The Tail of Team FlameTail
by Psittacidae13
Summary: Team FlameTail were legendary years ago, when Rescue Teams existed. Now, years later, the Team has come back together, although Pika didn't expect the team to return like this... Based off Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness
1. A Storm At Sea

**The "Tail" of Exploration Team FlameTail. A story that is similar but different to the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Stories.**

_This story begins with a Pikachu named Pika, who used to be a part of a Rescue Team, but was unable to continue since his friend disappeared in a bright light on top of a canyon._

_Now, instead of rescue teams and Pokémon Square, there are exploration teams and Treasure Town._

_Even though everything has been changing over many years, Pika remains quite young, and still has many, many more things to learn about the world on which he lives on... _

_**Chapter 1 A Storm at Sea**_

_These events take place after a very stormy night, when the winds howled and the waves smashed the cliffs._

Pika had been pacing up and down the length of the cliff for a while now. The longer he stayed there, the more nervous he became. "That's it; I refuse to be paralysed by this any longer. I'm going to have to steel my courage today." he thought as he was deciding whether or not he was going to enter Wigglytuff's guild, a top-rank exploration centre, where Pokémon came to train to be part of an Exploration Team. Exploration Teams went all over the world making discoveries and maybe even finding treasure. Anyway, back to the story.

Pika took a deep breath, then walked onto a wooden grate which was in front of the door of the guild. "Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" shouted a voice from deep below the grate. "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" shouted another voice. The first voice replied "The footprint is Pikachu's! The footprint is Pikachu's!" "Waaahhhh!" yelled Pika as the voices scared him off of the grate. "Oh, forget it. I can't work up the courage to go in. I thought holding on to my personal treasure would inspire me. Oh, well" Pika said to himself as he walked off away from the guild sadly.

When Pika had gone, two Pokémon came out from behind some bushes and started talking to each other. "Did you see that Zubat?" said the first one. "Yeah, but did you see what that wimp had with him Koffing? Looked like some sort of treasure." "Do we go after him?" asked Koffing. "We do."

Meanwhile, Pika had just arrived at the beach. It was evening, and all of the Krabby had come to blow bubbles over the sea. When Pika saw the sight of the orange Sunlight shining and reflecting off all of the bubbles, he suddenly relaxed and stood there, watching his most favourite view.

"The view is spectacular here, with all of the bubbles floating over the sea and the sunset. I always come here to uplift myself." Pika thought as he took in the view. Then, he saw something at the end of the beach, near the beach cave.

"Hmm? What's that over there?" he wondered. As he moved closer, he saw what it was and panicked. "Oh no! Someone has collapsed onto the sand!" he realized as he raced over to the unconscious Pokémon. "Are you alright?!" he exclaimed to the Charmander. "Urgh..." he moaned as he woke up. He stood up and started to look around. "You're awake! What a relief, you were passed out here" Pika said to the puzzled Charmander.

Then, the Charmander told Pika that he has no recollection of anything besides the fact that he is a human. "What? But you look like a normal Charmander to me. Suddenly, the Charmander started panicking as he realized the truth that he had indeed, turned into a Charmander. "Hey, are you trying to trick me?" asked Pika.

"No, why would I do that?" said the Charmander. "Well alright, then at least do you know your name?" Pika asked. "Oh that's right, my name is Char" said Char as he had a feeling he knew the Pikachu. "My name is Pika" as Pika also had a feeling that he knew Char.

"Sorry for doubting you though, it's just that more and more bad Pokémon have been turning up everywhere and it's hard to find a good Pokémon." As Pika finished talking, Char suddenly noticed two Pokémon, a Zubat and a Koffing, coming right at Pika. Before he could warn Pika, they slammed into him, causing a rock to fly from Pika's grip.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?!" exclaimed Pika as he got up off the ground. "We were trying to mess with you, can't face up to us, can you?" said the Zubat which made Char realize that these Pokémon were mean. "Oh, what's this?" said Zubat as he picked up the rock. "No, that's..." said Pika as he panicked.

"I'll take that" said Zubat. "What's the matter, aren't going to try to get this back? I didn't know you were such a coward!" teased Koffing. "See you around, chicken" said Zubat as he and Koffing were approaching the entrance to the beach cave.

Char couldn't take anymore of this since Pika was left sitting on the beach, upset. He jumped in front of the bullies and yelled "This is as far as you'll go into the cave unless you give Pika back his rock." "If you want it, you'll have to beat us first!" they said as they quickly fled into the cave. "Quick Char" said Pika, now full of courage because of Char's actions, "If we're quick, we can catch them at the bottom of the cave!"

So Char and Pika went deep into the cave, beating the wild Pokémon that challenged them, Kabuto, Corsola, Shellder and Shellos, until they reached the bottom of the beach cave. The ground was soft sand, the walls were red rocks weathered by high tide waves and there was a large opening at the back which showed the sea. Pika went behind the bullies and shouted "Uh, hey, give me back what you stole from me! That's my personal treasure! It means everything to me!"

"We told you, only if you beat us!" Suddenly, there were two bright flashes of light followed by a third, longer flash. Then, the battle started. Char went up to Zubat and hit him with an Ember attack, which knocked him out. Meanwhile, Pika hit Koffing with a Thundershock attack, but then Pika was poisoned by Koffing's Poison Gas attack.

Pika fell down in pain, clutching his stomach. When Char saw this, a huge power caused by anger engulfed him, which he suddenly released at Koffing. It knocked Koffing out cold. Since the bullies where wiped out, Char rushed over to Pika to see how he was going. It seemed that the poison had disappeared once the battle had finished.

"I hate poison, it hurts more than anything!" said Pika as he got up. "Anyway, how did you use Heat Wave? Only the most powerful fire type Pokémon can successfully control it..." Pika asked as he suddenly realized that he used to know another two fire types who could use Blast Burn. "I don't have a clue" said Char as he tried to figure out why Pika was so familiar.

"Anyway, thanks for helping me out. I couldn't have got this back without you." Pika picked up the rock that they had fought for. "This is my Relic Fragment. It's my personal treasure. I'll admit, it looks like junk, but if you look closely at it..." Char looked at it and saw a strange, unique pattern on the top of it. "See? That inscription forms a strange pattern, doesn't it?" "I've never seen anything like it!" said Char as he studied the pattern closely. "I just know that this fits into somewhere, I just don't know where yet. I love exploring, I mean wouldn't it be great to explore hidden lands? And history! Wouldn't it be fantastic to make historic discoveries? That's how I feel anyway" said Pika.

"Well, anyway, how would you like to join an exploration team with me Char? Please?" "Hmm, what should I do? I don't even know what an Exploration Team is! But, I don't have anywhere to go and maybe I could remember who I am by staying with Pika..." Char thought. "So, will you join an exploration team with me Char?" "I guess so" "You will? Excellent! Now, let's go to Wigglytuff's guild and sign up to be apprentices! The training could be tough, but let's give it our best effort Char!" said Pika happily.

As they walked off, Char suddenly became dizzy and blacked out. Then, he had a vision of a tower of clouds in the sky. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared and Char was back at the Pokémon World with Pika...


	2. The New Guild Recruits

_**Chapter 2 The New Guild Recruits**_

This is Wigglytuff's Guild." Pika told Char. "To form an Exploration Team, you need to register and train here until you become a first-rate Exploration Team." They looked over at the Guild. "Yikes! Isn't this place a bit strange?" wondered Pika. "No, I have Char with me now, I have to be brave."

Pika walked up to the entrance and stepped onto the grate. A voice shouted from below, "Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" shouted another voice. "The footprint is Pikachu's! The footprint is Pikachu's!" shouted back the first voice. "Waahhh!" shouted Pika. He kept standing on the grate though. "N-no, I have to be strong..." he told himself.

There was a pause, then the second voice shouted "You may ENTER!" "Someone's with you! So get that stranger to stand up THERE!" "They probably meant you, Char" Pika said. "The grate looks strange..." thought Char. "It looks like it might tickle my feet or..." "Hey you! Stranger! Get on the GRATE!" yelled the second voice. Char hurried onto the grate.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" "The footprint is... The footprint is... Um..." "What's the matter? Sentry? Sentry? What's wrong, Sentry Diglett?" Diglett could only reply with "Umm... Er..." "The footprint is... Um... Maybe Charmander's! Maybe Charmander's!" "What?! MAYBE?!" "B-but... It's not a footprint you normally see around here..." "UGH! That's pretty crummy! Checking the footprint of visiting Pokémon... That's your job, ISN'T it Diglett?" He replied "Yes, but... I don't know what I don't know."

Meanwhile, Pika and Char stood in front of the Guild waiting. "Are they arguing?" asked Pika. "Hey Diglett" Char yelled down the hole. "I am a Charmander!" Suddenly, the second voice spoke. "...Sorry to make you WAIT. Well, it's TRUE that you don't see many Charmander in these parts... But you don't SEEM to be bad... OK, good enough! You may ENTER!" The huge gates at the entrance of the Guild suddenly opened. "Yikes! I'm so nervous! But I'm glad we're allowed in! Let's go!" said Pika excitedly.

They entered and saw a hatch with a ladder that went underground. They went down and saw heaps of Pokémon chatting to each other about Exploration. "Wow, this is Wigglytuff's Guild! I wonder if these Pokémon are on Exploration Teams!" thought Char.

"Excuse me! It was you two that just came in, right?" asked a Chatot. "Yes" "I'm Chatot! I'm the Pokémon in the know around here and also Guildmaster Wigglytuff's right-hand Pokémon. Now shoo! Leave the premises! We don't have time for salespeople or silly surveys!"

Pika quickly said "N-no, that's not why we're here! We want to form an Exploration Team... That's why we came." "What! Exploration Team?" Chatot turned around and muttered to himself "It's rare to see a kid like this want to apprentice here. Especially given how hard our training program is!" Excuse me, is the training that severe?" asked Pika, who had heard every word Chatot had said. "What? No, no, no! It's not true in the slightest! Our training program is as easy as can be!" Pika turned to Char "His attitude suddenly changed, didn't it...?" "Ok, let's sign your team up right away. Follow me!" said Chatot as he climbed down another ladder.

"This is the Guilds second underground floor. This is mainly where apprentices work. Over here is Team registration. Follow me, please!" Suddenly, Pika looked out of a window and couldn't believe his eyes. "Wow! We're underground, but you can see outside!" "Oh, please! Hush now!" Chatot snapped. Char thought that this was no way to treat Pika, but he kept quiet. "The Guild is built into the side 0f a cliff. It's only natural that you could see outside." "Oh."

"Here we are at Guildmaster Wigglytuff's chamber. On no account should you be discourteous to our Guildmaster. Guildmaster! It's Chatot! I'm coming in!" Inside, there was a big symbol on the back wall, treasure chests full of colourful balls at the sides of the room with torches next to them. In the middle of the room, on a mat, stood Wigglytuff.

"Guildmaster! I present to you two new apprentices!" There was a long pause. "Guildmaster...um...Guildmaster?" Suddenly, Wigglytuff span around to face everyone and said "Hiya!" He span so quickly, he made Pika and Char jump. "I'm Wigglytuff! I'm the Guildmaster! You want to form an Exploration Team? Then, let's go for it! First, we must register your team name! So, your team name is?"

"Oh, our team name? I didn't think of that. Char, what do you think a good team name for us would be?" "What about... FlameTail?" "FlameTail? That's perfect!" "All settled then, I'll register you as Team FlameTail! Registering! Registering! All Registered... YOOM....TAH! Congratulations! You are now an official Exploration Team! I present you this in commemoration! An Exploration Team Kit! Quick, open it up."

Inside, there was an Explorer Badge, (Proof of being part of an Exploration Team, can also be used to escape from dungeons) a Wonder Map (a map of the world) and a Treasure Bag (Used to store items). "Look in your Treasure Bag!" said Wigglytuff. Pika looked inside and found a Special Band (used to power up non-physical attacks) and a Red Bow (used to power up the Team Leader (Char)).

"Thank you Wigglytuff! We'll do our best!" They then left Wigglytuff in his chamber and followed Chatot to a room at the end of a hall."This is your room!" It had a window with two hay beds. "You will live here while you work for us. Things will start getting busy for you tomorrow, so don't stay up too late and wake up early! That is all."

Late that night...

"Oh, are you still awake Char? I've been getting excited today over every little thing... But I'm glad I finally decided to come here. I thought Wigglytuff might be scary, but he seems friendly. We're going to experience all sorts of things tomorrow but I'm not scared. In fact, I'm excited about the adventures we'll have! I'm feeling sleepy... Let's give it all of our effort tomorrow. OK, Char. Good night."

After Pika fell asleep, Char began to think "It's pretty exciting being in an Exploration Team, and it's fun to be friends with Pika... But first things first... Who am I? How did I turn into a Pokémon? How did I end up unconscious on that beach? And how do I know who Pika is? I'm feeling sleepy too... I'm going to get to the bottom of this in time..."

The Next Morning...

HEY! HEY THERE! RISE AND SHINE!!!!" shouted a very, very loud voice. "Owwww! My head! My ears! You nearly blasted my eardrums!" Char yelled back at the voice.

"WHY ARE YOU STILL ASLEEP?! WAKE UP!! SNAP OUT OF IT! MY NAME'S LOUDRED AND IF YOU'RE LATE FOR OUR MORNING BRIEFING, YOU'LL BE SORRY, SO MOVE IT! WIGGLYTUFF HAS A BIG TEMPER, AND IF YOU MAKE HIM LOSE IT, YIKES! THAT WOULD BE A SCARY SCENE! SO, I'M NOT GETTING INTO TROUBLE JUST BECAUSE YOU ROOKIES GOT UP LATE, SO GET IN GEAR!!!!!" Loudred walked off, leaving Team FlameTail to deal with their massive headaches.

"Ohhhhhh! My ears are still ringing! What did he say Char? Something about getting ready?" moaned Pika. "Oh yeah, we signed up as apprentices at Wigglytuff's Guild yesterday... But that means..."

Suddenly, the two Pokémon realized why Loudred was yelling at them "Oh no! We overslept! Quick Char! Run!" They ran down the crew room hall to see an assembly of Guild Pokémon waiting for them.

"YOU'RE LATE ROOKIES!" yelled Loudred. "Hush! You're voice is ridiculously loud!" snapped Chatot. "Well" he began "it looks like the Guild is in full attendance, Guildmaster!" Chatot called. Then, the doors to the Guildmaster's room flew open and out walked Wigglytuff. "Guildmaster, please address the crew."

"Zzzz...Snorfle...Zzzz...Snore..." The crew of Pokémon started chatting amongst themselves.

"The Guildmaster never ceases to amaze me!" "Yup, it looks like he's wide awake..." "Eeek! He's eyes are open, but he's snoring!" Chatot, sensing that the Guild knew that Wigglytuff was asleep, started to talk again. "Errr... Guild, take the Guildmaster's... words of wisdom to heart! Now, time for the Guild Morning Cheer!" Pika and Char watched and listened as the Guild sang out the Cheer.

"One: Don't shirk work! Two: Run away and pay! Three: Smiles go for miles!" Chatot yelled out "Okay Pokémon, let's get to work!" "Hooray!!!" shouted everyone as they went to complete their daily jobs. Chatot saw that Char and Pika looked a bit lost, so he called them over. "Follow me FlameTail" he said as he climbed the ladder that led to the first floor.

Pika and Char followed him to a Bulletin Board on the left side of the room. It had jobs from all different kinds of Pokémon asking for help. "This is the Job Bulletin Board, where Guild members can come to receive jobs which Pokémon, in need of help, put up on the board. The guild members then go to the dungeon described in the job and help the Pokémon out. Since the flow of time became messed up around the world, there has been an outbreak of aggressive Pokémon, Jobs and, of course, Mystery Dungeons" Chatot explained.

"What's a Mystery Dungeon?" asked Char. Pika answered "a Mystery Dungeon is a place that changes every time you go into it. Although, they are full of wild Pokémon, and if you are defeated, you lose all of your money and half your items or more, and you get kicked right out. But, they are still amazing places to explore!" "Ah, good! You are quite informed! This will make things much easier to explain. Jobs all take place in Mystery Dungeons. Now, let's see... Ah, here we are! The perfect mission for you! Read it."

Pika read the letter. "Hello, my name is Spoink. I need help! An outlaw has taken my precious pearl! It is life itself to me! Although someone told me that my pearl was seen at the Drenched Bluff, which has been reported extremely dangerous, I could never go anywhere so frightening! Please retrieve my pearl dear readers! I beg your help! From, Spoink."

"What? We're only suppost to get an item someone dropped?! I'd rather have an adventure, like going to an unexplored place or look for treasure, or..." Pika started. "Hush!" Chatot snapped. "You will serve the Guild's rules and pay your dues! Now I'll repeat the consequences to make sure they stick! Be careful and don't get knocked out or else you will lose your money, at least half of your items and get kicked out of the dungeon and end up here! If that is understood, then go complete your job!"

Chatot walked off down to the second level of the Guild while Pika stood there, crushed and Char stood there, thinking that Chatot can get a bit too angry sometimes and that he shouldn't have spoken to Pika like that. Despite this though, Team FlameTail went to Drenched Bluff to get the pearl for Spoink.

As soon as they entered the dungeon, they were surrounded by 2 Lileeps and a Shellos. Fortunately, all 3 were weak, so Pika and Char were able to continue. Actually, the wild Pokémon were so weak, that Char's Ember could deal 35 damage to a Shellos. The only real danger was when a huge wind storm almost blew them right out of the dungeon. They had to battle many Anoriths, Chinglings, Lileeps and Shellos, during which time Char learnt Ember but it was worth it.

When Team FlameTail got back to the guild, they found Spoink waiting for them. "Thank you! Thank you ever so much for getting my pearl back! I couldn't settle down without it being up on top of my head. So I was boinging and sproinging everywhere! That's why I'm covered in bruises. But, thanks to you, that incident is over! Thank you!" Spoink gave Char stat boosting items, like Iron and Calcium, and a small bag full of money!

"Wow! 2000Pokè?! All of it is for us?!" asked Pika, amazed. "Of course! That's nothing compared to my pearl's value! Bye!" Spoink bounced up the ladder and out of the guild. "Wow! Char, we got rich, just like that!" "Well done Team FlameTail!" said Chatot "now hand that money over if you please."

"Huh? What?" "Most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster, and your Team's share comes to this much!" "What?! We only keep 200Pokè? That's awful!" exclaimed Pika. "Well, that's the guild's rule. You'll just have to accept it!" "Hmph..." Pika said sadly.

Later that evening...

"Everyone!" Chimecho called. "Thanks for waiting! I've finished making dinner! Come and get it!" "YEAH! HOORAY!!" everyone cheered.

Late at Night...

"Wasn't today hectic? So many things happened! But, I'm relieved that our first job was a success. It was upsetting how the Guild took most of the money, but it's a rule, so we'll have to accept it. Anyway, helping Spoink out and being thanked by him was a very good reward anyway. Anyway, I'm getting sleepy... I'm going to sleep, let's try our best again tomorrow. Good night Char..."


	3. The Scream

_**Chapter 3 The Scream**_

UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!" yelled Loudred. "Uh... Good Morning Char..." mumbled Pika. They got up and walked to Guild Assembly. "Three! Smiles go for miles!" "Okay Pokémon, let's get to work!" "Hooray!" shouted the guild as they finished their morning cheer. "Pika, Char, are you still lost? Come with me." called Chatot, as he saw Pika and Char were wandering around.

Pika and Char followed Chatot up to the first floor, but they went to a bulletin board on the other side of the room. "Today, you're going to complete a job from this board!" "Huh? How is this one different from the other board?" asked Pika, confused. "Take a closer look, Pika" said Char. The board had jobs, like the Job Bulletin Board, but these ones had pictures of Pokémon on them. "Wow, these Pokémon look cool! Who are they Chatot?" asked Pika.

"They are outlaws, each one with a bounty on their heads." "W-w-what?! We have to catch an outlaw?!" cried Pika, shocked and scared. "Hee-heee! Just joking!" said Chatot, smiling "Some are completely wicked through-and-through, and others are just petty thieves." "They come in all shades of badness, so you have evil to naughty, and everything in between! Heee-heee!" "I don't care how evil they are, I'm scared of dangerous Pokémon!" cried Pika.

"Well, I guess you will have to be ready to face a tough opponent... Bidoof!! Come here!!" yelled Chatot as a small, brown, buck-toothed rodent Pokémon came climbing up the ladder. "Bidoof, I need you to help these two by showing them around town and helping them to choose an outlaw." "Yes siree Chatot, you can count on me!" "Good" said Chatot as he walked off.

"Now, first things first, I'll show you around town. Follow me!" said Bidoof as he climbed up the ladder and went out of the guild. Pika and Char followed. They went down the stairs and came to the crossroads.

"Go north to get to the Guild, South for the beach, East for Explorations and West for Treasure Town." Bidoof told them as they headed West. They stood on a mosaic in the middle of the town. "This is Treasure Town!" Bidoof exclaimed. "Oh, I can tell you about Treasure Town as well!" said Pika.

"To the far right of town is Duskull Bank, where you can store your money, to the right of town is Electrivire Link Shop, where you can do things like link moves, although Electrivire isn't there... To the left of town is Kecleon Market, where items are bought or sold and, to the far left of town, is Kangaskhan storage, where you can store items that you don't want to lose." "Those are the basic places that Exploration Teams visit." said Pika.

"Wow, you sure know a lot about Treasure Town! Well, when you're ready, I'll be waiting on the Guild's first floor so I can help you pick out an outlaw." "Thanks Bidoof for helping us out, you're really kind" said Pika. "Aw shucks, now I'm embarrassed!" Bidoof left Pika and Char to get ready at Treasure Town. "Before we head back to the guild, we must check the items at Kecleon Market. Let's go."

So, Team FlameTail headed off to the Kecleon Market, unaware of what was going to happen later that day... Team FlameTail went to Kecleon Market and bought an apple and an Oran berry. They were just about to leave when a Marill and an Azurill came to the shop.

"Hi Misters Kecleon, could we buy an apple?" "Of course" said one of the Kecleon as he places two apples into a bag for the two Pokémon. "Here you go." "Thank you Misters Kecleon!" said the two as they walked off. The green Kecleon turned to Team FlameTail and explains that those two brother's mother has fallen ill, so, even though very young, they have taken all the responsibilities of their family. Suddenly, the brothers rush back to the shop. "Misters Kecleon, we found an extra apple, we didn't pay for this many." "That apple is a gift from my brother and I, share it amongst yourselves and enjoy!" "Wow, thank you Misters Kecleon! Bye!"

Suddenly, as the two walked up Treasure Town, Azurill tripped and dropped his apple. Char quickly picked it up and walked over to Azurill. "We're sorry to have bothered you" Azurill apologised but, as soon as Char gave Azurill the apple, he started to feel weird. "Ohhhh... I feel dizzy... Am I having another vision?" he thought.

Then he blacked out and heard a familiar voice cry out for help. Then, the dizziness stopped and Char stared at Azurill, since it was Azurill's scream that he had just heard. "Was that you?" he thought as Azurill walked off with Marill. "Ha, aren't those little guys cute?" Pika asked Char. "Char? What's wrong?" said Pika when he realized the shocked look on Char's face.

"Did you hear Azurill cry for help just then?" asked Char. "Huh? No, I didn't. Hey, Kecleon brothers, did you just hear anything unusual?" They replied "No, nothing out of the ordinary." "Oh well, come on Char, Bidoof's waiting for us." As they were heading back to the guild, they saw Marill and Azurill talking to a Drowzee happily.

"Hello, what's going on here?" said Pika happily. "A long time ago, we lost a very special item that means a lot to us" said Marill. "But, Mister Drowzee here says that he knows where it is and he's going to take us there!" "Oh, it's no trouble at all! I don't have a cold heart! I wouldn't turn a blind eye to someone in need!" said Drowzee. "Well, anyway, see you later!"

The two brothers walked off along with Drowzee. Then, Drowzee accidentally bumped Char. "Oops, sorry!" said Drowzee as he kept walking along with the brothers. "Well, isn't that great! It's nice to know that there are some Pokémon out there trying to do good deeds!" said Pika. But suddenly, Char felt dizzy again "Oh no, not another dizzy spell..." he thought as he blacked out again but, this time, he saw something. He saw Drowzee with Azurill on a mountain and Drowzee was threatening Azurill! Then, it all faded as Char returned back to the world. "What just happened Char? Char?!" Pika said as Char thought about what just happened...

"What?! You saw Drowzee threatening Azurill at a mountainous and you want to rescue him?! It's an emergency?!" Pika exclaimed as Char finished explaining what he had just seen. "Well, it's not that I don't trust you Char, it's just that I can't believe anything that you just said! I mean, didn't you see how nice Drowzee was being to Azurill and Marill? I don't think Drowzee would harm them. Maybe you just had a bad daydream?"

"Hmm, I don't know if it was a bad daydream, but how could it be if what I saw seemed so real? I don't think it was a daydream though..." Char thought as he tried to figure out what had happened. "Anyway, we have to focus on our guild work for now. Bidoof said he would be waiting for us at the Outlaw Notice Board."

So, Team FlameTail went to the guild to meet Bidoof. When Pika and Char went to the Outlaw Notice Board, sure enough, Bidoof was there, waiting for them to arrive. "Are you two all ready to catch yourselves an outlaw?" asked Bidoof. "Yep, we just finished packing the rest of our supplies." "Good, now, you have a choice of this sorry bunch of Pokémon..." "Hmm, who should we choose Char?" "As your mentor, how about I choose the outlaw?" replied Bidoof. "Ok, but don't choose anyone scary!" said Pika, who was still nervous about capturing an outlaw. "Alright, eenie, meenie, minie, moe..."

"Updating Boards, Stand Back! Updating Boards, Stand Back!" shouted a voice from behind the Notice Board as the guild's floor shook. "What's going on?!" asked Char, who, like Pika, was panicking. "Oh, the data's being updated." replied Bidoof calmly. "The data's being updated?!" asked a shocked Team FlameTail. "Yup, a Pokémon named Dugtrio burrows through the ground and flips the Boards over, since they are set up on rotating panels." Bidoof said as the Outlaw Notice Board flipped onto a blank side. "He then takes away the old jobs and wanted posters and puts up the new ones. Finally, he flips the Boards back over." "Updating Complete, Stand Clear! Updating Complete, Stand Clear!" shouted Dugtrio as the panels flipped over, revealing new outlaws.

"Now, let's see what we have here..." Bidoof said as he looked at the posters. Char looked at Pika and saw him shaking. "Huh? What's wrong? Why are you shivering? It's not cold in here after all..." "Char, look at the outlaw at the top left corner of the board..."

Char looked and he saw Drowzee's picture! "I knew it!" he cried. "Quick, we've got to hurry! Let's go!" said Pika. They raced off out to the crossroads. "Hey, wait! Come back!" Bidoof shouted, but it was no use. Pika spotted Marill on the East road. "Marill! Are you alright?" "Yes, but Mister Drowzee walked off with Azurill and left me all alone. I tried calling out to them, but they couldn't hear me..." "Could you show us where they went?" asked Char. "Yes, they went this way to Mt Bristle, follow me!"

The 3 Pokémon managed to reach Mt. Bristle just after midday. "Ok, so you saw Drowzee and Azurill headed up this mountain?" Pika asked "Yes, I don't know where they were headed, but please bring Azurill back here for me." "No problem, we'll be back before sunset." Char replied.

So Pika and Char headed up the mountain to defeat Drowzee. As soon as they entered the dungeon, they were surrounded by Doduo! Luckily, Team FlameTail managed to survive by hitting the Pokémon with Ember and Thundershock attacks. Unfortunately, a Nidorino poisoned Char with its poison point ability, just as he had defeated it.

Char tried to keep going, but a Starly came from behind a corner and knocked Char out with a Quick Attack. Suddenly, a Reviver Seed in the Treasure Bag transferred its powers to Char, reviving him, then the Reviver Seed turned into just a plain, ordinary seed.

Then, Char knocked the Starly out. They climbed 9 floors, battling Doduo, Starly, Nidorino, Nidorina and Spinarak, during which time Pika learnt Thunder Wave, but Team FlameTail made it to the top of the mountain. When they got there, Drowzee was threatening Azurill, because Azurill wouldn't go into a very small tunnel that was in the wall of the mountain.

"Drowzee, stop threatening Azurill!" Pika shouted. "What? Who are you? How did you find this place?" Drowzee asked. "We're an Exploration Team! We won't let you get away with this!" Pika replied. "An Exploration Team? You've come to apprehend..." Drowzee started, but Char cut him off. "Also, it was easy to find this place, I mean, who could miss a mountain? Isn't that right Pika...? Pika?" Char look at Pika and saw him trembling.

"Aha! Now I understand! You two say you are an Exploration Team, but you're just rookies!" "Urgh..." Pika mumbled. "In all these years, I've been chased by all sorts of Teams, but never a sorrier looking bunch like you two!" "Urgh..." mumbled Pika, but, at the same time, Char felt a familiar power flow though him. "Can you defeat the dangerous criminal and bring him to justice?" Drowzee teased. "Y-yes! We can! We'd never lose to someone like you!"

Suddenly, there were two quick flashes, followed by a larger and longer flash, then the battle started. Pika went over to Drowzee and used Thundershock, which paralysed him, but, Drowzee used Hypnosis and Pika quickly fell asleep. Suddenly, the power inside Char changed to a completely different power, then Char unleashed the power of, Char realised somehow, Overheat. This power knocked Drowzee out and into the wall. Char rushed over to Pika and woke him up. Then, he walked over to Azurill.

"Hi Azurill, we've come to rescue you, let's get you back." "Ok" was all Azurill could say. When they got back, Officer Magnezone was taking Drowzee to his station. "Thanks to you, we've been able to catch a wanted criminal! We will send the reward to your guild. Bye!" said Magnezone. "Bye!" said Team FlameTail as they walked over to Marill and Azurill.

"Thank you, I don't know what I would have done without you, I mean I really can't thank you enough!" Marill said to Pika and Char. "You're welcome, although you really don't have to thank us, we were just doing our job." Pika replied happily. "Azurill, do you have something to say?" asked Marill. "Thank you Pika and Char!" said Azurill. "Well, we have to go now, bye!" Marill shouted as he and Azurill walked off. "Bye!" shouted Team FlameTail as they walked back to the Guild.

Later that Afternoon...

"Here you go, this is what Magnezone sent you." said Chatot as he handed Pika a package. Inside, there was a Max Elixir, a Ginseng, 3000Pokè and a Sinister Box with a note on it.

After Chatot took 2700Pokè away, which made Pika very annoyed, Char read the note. It said 'The contents of this box are for special emergencies only.' Pika and Char tried opening the box, but it wouldn't open.

Suddenly, Char became very dizzy. "I wonder what I'll see now..." Char thought as he blacked out. He saw Pika and himself go to a Xatu at its shop, just across from Kangaskhan Storage. The Xatu took the box and opened it with ease. Then, Xatu gave Char the contents... Char regained consciousness and told Chatot and Pika what he'd just seen.

"Hmm, nope. I don't know anything about what you just described Char, except I know the shop that you told us about." Pika told Char. Chatot continued, "The shop's name is Xatu Appraisal, it's where Pokémon take boxes they can't open, and Xatu opens the boxes for them. It costs 150Pokè though, but that's a very cheap price to pay compared to what might be in the treasure box!" "So, that's settled then! Tomorrow we're going to Xatu Appraisal!" exclaimed Pika.

Late that night...

"Wow, it's raining heavily outside!" Pika said as he looked out the window. Suddenly, some lightning slammed into the ground about 500m away. "You know, there are so many bad Pokémon appearing everywhere, since time started messing up. No one knows why, but they think it has something to do with the Time Gears.

"Time Gears? What are they?" Char asked. "A Time Gear is a special gear that keeps time flowing properly in its area. I've heard that there is one in a deep forest, one in an underground cavern... I've even heard that there is a hidden altar in a volcano where one is hidden." Pika answers.

Meanwhile, far away in a forest...

A lone Pokémon runs through the trees in the middle of a deep forest...

Back at the Guild...

"Everyone thinks that if you mess with a Time Gear, a huge disaster will befall the planet, so no one goes near them, not even the most hardened criminals dare to tamper with them. Well, goodnight Char..."

At the Forest...

"Do my eyes deceive me? No, it's definitely a Time Gear! I've finally found one, although this is but one of many more..."


	4. The Gatekeepers

_**Chapter 4 The Gatekeepers**_

UP AND AT EM'! IT'S MORNING!" shouted Loudred. "Uhhh... Good morning Char..." "THREE: SMILES GO FOR MILES!" Okay Pokémon, let's get to work!" "HOORAY!" shouted everyone after the morning cheer.

"Ok Char, let's go to Xatu's Appraisal and see what™€s inside this box!" Pika said as he got the strange, Sinister Box out of the new, larger Treasure Bag(After the capture of Drowzee, the Pokémon Exploration Team Federation sent a bigger Treasure Bag to Team FlameTail).

"Hey, FlameTail!!" shouted Loudred. "Come Here!" They walked over to Loudred and Diglett, who were standing next to a hole in the ground with a vine ladder leading down into it. "You two have Sentry Duty!" "Sorry about this, I'm the one who usually does Sentry Duty..." explained Diglett. "But I have my dad's, Dugtrio's work for today, so I need someone to do my work for today. Bye!" Diglett burrowed off somewhere. "And that's THAT!" smiled Loudred.

"Huh? What do we have to do with this?" asked Pika. "QUIET!! YOU WILL DO THIS WORK, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" shouted Loudred. His voice was so loud, it knocked Pika and Char off balance and they fell all the way down the hole. "You have to go underneath the grate and check the footprints of all of the Pokémon visitors and shout out to me who they are. I will then decide whether they can come in or not, so you'll be sort of like Gatekeepers." shouted Loudred. "Good luck!"

"Ok, Char, you light the way with your tail." "Are you two in position yet?" "Almost, wait, I can see light! There's the grate! We're ready Loudred!" shouted Char.

So, Team FlameTail spent the whole day identifying footprints, although there were only six visitors to the Guild. Both Char and Pika found out that Char had a talent for identifying Pokémon footprints. He called out every one before Pika had a chance to think about it. The visitors were a Sandshrew, Glameow, Pachirisu, Natu, Dunsparce and a Togepi. At the end, they shouted to Loudred, No More Visitors! No More Visitors! "Heard ya! Now you can come back!" shouted back Loudred.

"Now" said Chatot as Char and Pika got back to the Guild "You've worked an honest day, let's see how you went..." Chatot checked a piece of paper Loudred had handed to him. "Well, it looks like you got a perfect score! You managed to identify every visitor correctly!" "Well done!" said Loudred. "We did it Char! Hooray!" shouted Pika.

"Now, you will be rewarded, generously, might I add!" said Chatot. For a job well done, Team FlameTail received a Max Elixir, Joy Seed, Life Seed and even 400Pokè! "You two, keep up the good work!" said Chatot.

Later that night...

"I'm really glad we were able to get a job well done today! Although, I wish we could have gone to Xatu's Appraisal... We'll just have to go tomorrow... Good night Char..."

The Next Morning...

As usual, Loudred woke up the Team and then the Guild had the Morning Cheer. But, Pika and Char walked past the Bulletin Boards, up the ladder, out the Guild, down the East road and walked over Treasure Town Bridge (located over a lake in the middle of town) until they reached Kecleon Market.

They then turned left, went forward, turned right and moved forward in order to reach Xatu's Appraisal. Xatu was standing at the front of the shop, unlike the last few days, when he was nowhere to be seen. "Welcome to Xatu's Appraisal, I can open any treasure box, although you'll have to pay a fee of 150Pokè." Pika took a few coins out of the Treasure Bag and handed them to Xatu.

"Thank you, now, what shall I give my appraisal services to?" asked Xatu. "This Sinister Box" said Char as he handed the strange box over to Xatu. Xatu took it, turned around and stood silently for a few seconds. Then, he shouted something in Xatu language, which was followed by a bright flash. Then, Xatu turned around and gave the box back to Char. "Now, the box will open." "Thank you Xatu!" "Let's go back to the guild, I bet everyone wants to know what's inside!" Pika said.

"No, I don't think we should" Char said. "Whatever's inside should only be used in an emergency. If we're going to find out, it should only be in an emergency" Char explained, as if he knew what was inside. "Oh, ok." Pika said, disappointedly. They were at the crossroads when Char tripped on a rock. The contents of the box fell onto the ground, which were six Fire-red Pokèballs on a belt and a mysterious Silver and Blue coloured, machine-like glove.

Char quickly rushed over to see what had just fallen out. He touched the Pokèballs on the belt and instantly became dizzy "Uhhh... The familiar dizziness..." Char blacked out and heard someone talking.

"Hmmm, these spheres, or Pokèballs, have the ability to catch Pokémon inside of them! I'd better send them to the guild; it would make it easier for them to catch outlaws!" Char woke up, realising that the voice was Magnezone's! He put the mysterious silver metal glove on. Suddenly, heaps of machinery came out of the 'glove' as if it was a fast growing plant. It covered Char's whole right arm and shoulder by the time it stopped growing. Char tried to get it off, but it wouldn't budge. Then, he started feeling dizzy again. "I hope this vision will tell me what this device is..." thought Char as he blacked out.

He saw a human wearing the device. It was covering his right arm too. Then, another human threw a Pokèball and out came a Zigzagoon, although this Zigzagoon had a shadowy aura around it. Char found this out because some sort of visor had come out of his machine and covered his right eye.

But, as soon as Char knew that the Pokémon had the secret aura, the visor disappeared back into the machine. The human raised his hand as if he was going to throw something. Then, a Pokèball appeared in his hand with a flash of light. Finally, he threw it and caught the 'Aura' Pokémon in it. The other human cried "Hey, how'd you snag my shadow Pokémon?!" Then everything went black and the next thing Char remembered, he was back at the crossroads, wearing the machine and belt.

"Are you alright Char, what happened?" "I had 3 visions, each explaining the belt, Pokèballs and the Snag Machine." "Oh, so what did you see?" asked Pika Char told him everything. "Hmm, ok, well I've never heard of shadow Pokémon before... Maybe we should ask Chatot about this?" "Ok, but only after going to Beach Cave to complete jobs."

So Pika and Char completed their jobs easily. By the time they got back to the guild though, it was evening. It was so late at night in fact, that Team FlameTail decided to get some sleep, then talk to Chatot in the morning...


	5. The First Official Exploration

_**Chapter 5 The First Official Exploration**_

"UP AND AT EM' IT'S MORNING... HEY, CHAR!!! WHAT'S THAT ON OR ARM?!!!" Loudred yelled as Pika and Char got up with headaches. "W-what did you say?" said Pika, still dizzy from Loudred's loud voice. "I SAID WHAT'S that THING on your arm CHAR!!!" said Loudred.

Suddenly, the floor shook as everyone rushed in to see what all the noise was about. "Why are you yelling Loudred?" asked Chatot. "Because, Char has SOMETHING on his ARM!!!" said Loudred. Everyone looked at Char's arm. The Snag Machine was in plain sight. "What happened Char?" asked Chatot, who sounded as worried as everyone looked.

"Well, this machine, called the Snag Machine, used with the Pokèballs on this belt, can catch Shadow Pokémon, or outlaws, with ease." "Wow, that's amazing!" said Dugtrio. "I'd sure like something like that yup!" said Bidoof. "Oh my gosh! That would make our jobs so much easier!" said Sunflora. "Char, why didn't you tell us about this yesterday?" asked Chatot. "Because, by the time we got back after our jobs, it was very late, so we had a Big Apple each, then went to bed." answered Char.

"Ok then, Pokémon! Let's go to the assembly area! I have an important announcement to make!" So, everyone headed out of the crew rooms to in front of the Guildmaster's Chamber for the morning briefing. "Now, everyone. I have an important announcement to make. Far out to the Northeast at a place called Treeshroud Forest, Time has stopped!" Chatot exclaimed. Everyone started panicking as soon as Chatot had said it.

"Apparently, in Treeshroud Forest" Chatot continued "No winds blow, no trees or leaves m0ve, dewdrops don't fall to the ground, they stay suspended in midair." "Oh my gosh! How could something as horrible as this happen? It's unthinkable!" Sunflora cried. "Yes, indeed, the unthinkable has happened, Treeshroud Forest's Time Gear was...stolen!" Chatot exclaimed. "But, don't worry, Officer Magnezone is carrying out a full investigation over the matter, so don't worry, keep completing your guild work!"

"Hooray!" cheered everyone as they headed off for another day's work. Char and Pika were also about to leave when Chatot called them over. "The Guildmaster and I are very impressed with all of the work you've done for the Guild, so we've decided to give you a task worthy of a real Exploration Team!" "Really?! Wow!" Pika said, overjoyed. "Open your Wonder Map please!" Char got his Wonder Map and gave it to Chatot.

"This is the guild here" he said pointing to a Treasure Town Symbol, "And this is the place we'd like you to investigate. It may look like an ordinary waterfall, but it's rumoured to be hiding a secret. So your mission is to search the Waterfall" Chatot finished. Pika started shaking. "Huh? What's wrong?" Chatot asked.

"Oh, I'm fine; it's just that I feel like I'm going to burst with excitement! Let's go Char! To the Waterfall!" When they reached the waterfall however, it was bigger and flowing faster than Pika and Char thought. "Wow, this waterfall is huge! Where should we start looking?" said Pika as he walked over to it. Suddenly, Pika was thrown back a few metres.

"Owww... You can't get close to it. Char, you try." Char stepped up to the waterfall. "Wow, the water is flowing very fast! I can barely stay standing near this deluge!" Suddenly, the force of the waterfall hit Char and he was thrown a few metres back, just like Pika. Then, he had a dizzy spell, but this time, he saw a lone Pokémon jump into the waterfall and land inside a cave. Then, he became conscious again.

"What did you see this time Char?" Pika asked. Char just said "We should jump into the waterfall." "What?! Really, do you think we should? I mean, what if there was a solid wall behind the waterfall? Yeesh, that would make our career as guild apprentices the shortest in history!" "Yes, Pika, we definitely should." There was a short silence. "Ok Char, I trust you. I just hope those visions are always right..." Pika said as they stood back from the waterfall so they could run and jump through it. "Ok, be brave, be the bravest ever!" Pika told himself.

"Ok, we run on three, one...two...THREE!!!" yelled Char as they ran at the waterfall. "Waaaahhh!!!!" yelled Team FlameTail as the force of the waterfall pushed them downwards...

...into a secret cave behind the waterfall! "Wow, you were right Char! Let's go explore this cave!" They entered the cave, which was full of water Pokémon. Char tried to battle the best he could, but Pika was the best fighter, defeating any Psyduck, Poliwag or Surskit that challenged him, although Char had to help out with Pokémon like Barboach, Whiscash and Wooper, who were part ground type.

Even though the water Pokémon put up a good fight, Team FlameTail still beat them all, so they were able to get to the bottom floor, which had crystals almost everywhere around it.

Then, Pika spotted a huge pink gem at the back of the room. Wow! This gem's huge! Let's bring it back to the guild!" Pika said as he walked over to it. He tried to pull it out but it wouldn't budge. "Hmmm, this gem's really stuck tight in the ground! Char, try to pull it out." Char pulled the gem with all of his strength, but it still wouldn't move. "Wow, you're right Pika, the gem is stuck, but I think if we keep trying, we'll end up with some sort of result! Try again Pika."

Then, Char began to feel dizzy. "Ohhhh...It's another vision..." Char blacked out, then saw the lone Pokémon walk up to the gem. It looked at it for a while, then pushed the gem. Suddenly, billions of litres of water came rushing through the cave, washing the Pokémon away. Then, Char was back with Pika. He saw Pika looking at the gem.

"Hmmm... Wait! I know!" said Pika. He walked over to the gem and he happened to push it! "Aaaaack! No! That's..." Char started, but sudden rumbling in the cave silenced him. "What's happening?" Pika wondered. Char turned around and saw a tsunami heading right for them. Team FlameTail tried to run, but it caught up with them and swept them though tunnels until they were blasted out a hole in the roof. "Waaaahhhhh!!!!" yelled Pika as they flew through the air at 200k/ph.

They eventually landed in a very warm pool, far away from the cave. "Hey, are you ok?" asked a Teddiursa "You just fell out of nowhere!" "Huh? Where are we?" asked Char. "You're at the Hot Spring" said a Torkoal. "Do you have a Wonder Map?" "Yes" replied Pika. He opened the Wonder Map. Torkoal showed Team FlameTail the position of the Hot Springs. "But, the Waterfall Cave is here so, we were thrown about 20km away!" Char exclaimed.

"Oh my! It was the water that carried you here?! You must be exhausted! Let the relaxing waters of the Hot Spring revitalise your strength and banish your fatigue before you go." "Ok, we'll do that, thanks!"

So Team FlameTail stayed at the Hot Springs until early afternoon, when they headed back to the guild to report to Chatot. "So, you reached the waterfall and jumped through it to discover a cave. Next, you found a big gem in the cave depths which, when pushed, triggers a trap that unleashes a tsunami. Finally, the tsunami blasts you out of the cave to the distant Hot Spring? Is that the summary of your report?" asked Chatot.

"Yes, although it's too bad that we couldn't bring the gem back..." said Pika sadly. "No no no, emphatically no! You two discovered Waterfall Cave and the Hot Springs, which none of us at the guild knew about! You've made an important discovery!" stated Chatot. "Really?" asked Pika. But, Char thought about the Pokémon he saw in the dizzy spells. "Hmm..." he thought "I've seen that Pokémon somewhere...wait! I know who it is!" Char told Chatot that Wigglytuff had been at Waterfall Cave before.

"What?" said Pika. They turned to face Chatot. "No, no, no emphatically no! That's inconceivable! If Guildmaster Wigglytuff had already been to Waterfall Cave, then why would he send you there?!" said Chatot. "Chatot, I know what you're trying to tell me, but I'm sure the Guildmaster's been there." Char said. "Ok, if you insist, I'll confirm it with the Guildmaster." Chatot turned around, muttering to himself. "Why would they want to spoil their own discovery? It's very odd... This group is another strange team of Pokémon..." "What was that Chatot?" Pika asked. "Oh, nothing, nothing, nothing at all..." said Chatot as he walked off to the Guildmaster's Chamber.

5 minutes later, he came back and told Pika and Char what the Guildmaster said. "I told the Guildmaster what had happened and I asked him if he had been to Waterfall Cave. Then, he thought about it for a minute, then he said 'Oh memories, sweet memories... YOOM-TAH!!!', then he danced around for a while and said 'Well, now that you mention it, I might have already been!' So Char was right after all!" finished Chatot. "Oh, ok..." said Pika sadly.

Late that night...

Wasn't today great Char, well sure there was the letdown of the 'discovery', but it was still a good day..." "Although, I've noticed something. Every time you have a vision, you've touched something beforehand..." "You're right! Every time I touched something, like the waterfall, gem or when Drowzee bumped into me, I had a vision!" "Not only that Char, but the visions show events in the past or future! This is an amazing ability Char! You could use it for all sorts of things, not just for Explorations!" Pika said excitedly, as Char wondered about the Tower of Clouds vision at the beach.

"Although, I can't have visions whenever I want though..." "Oh, Pika, do you know anything about a tower made from clouds in the sky?" "Hmmm..." Pika thought hard. Suddenly, Chatot walked in.

"The Guildmaster would like to see you both now." They entered the Guildmaster's Chamber, which was lit by the huge torches near Wigglytuff. "Guildmaster, I've brought you Team FlameTail... Guildmaster...?" "Hi!" Wigglytuff said as he spun around very fast, causing Pika and Char to jump.

"You two have been through a lot-lot! So, I'm going to tell you about an expedition that the Guild will be going on soon! We'll be travelling far away from our local area, to a mysterious lake shrouded in mystery, so it will be more difficult than normal missions. Because of this, we'd normally never consider rookies to be part of an Expedition, but you've been working so hard, that I'm making an exception this time!" Wigglytuff explained. "Wow, really? We might get to go on an actual expedition?"

"Maybe" said Chatot "You have to work very hard to get in, and you have from now, until we announce the members next month." "Ok, we will! Char, let's work very hard so we can get chosen for the expedition!"


	6. Team Skull

_(Every time 'the next morning' appears, it means after the Morning Assembly, unless said otherwise)_

_**Chapter 6 Team Skull **_

It was the same morning as always for Team FlameTail, except Chatot told everyone what Pika and Char were told about the night before. About the Expedition. Then, everyone headed off to complete another day's work. Except, this time, when Pika and Char went to the job bulletin board, they saw two familiar Pokémon reading from the board.

"Koffing and Zubat?! What are you two doing here?" Pika asked. "Well, well, well. Look Koffing, it's the big chicken and the hero" Zubat teased. "We're part of an exploration team, why do you ask; do you think it's weird for Exploration Team members to check out the Job Bulletin Board?" Koffing replied. "We're Team Skull, although our exploration team doesn't always do things...by the book." Zubat said.

"Anyway, what are you two doing here?" asked Koffing. "We're training as apprentices here at the guild to become an Exploration Team." answered Pika. "What?! You want to be a member of a real Exploration Team? You can never do that, you get scared too easily." Zubat said. "Well, it's true that I can get scared at times, but that's another reason why I'm training at the guild, so I can overcome my weaknesses! Right now, we're trying to be able to go on a Guild Expedition!" Pika said bravely. "An Expedition you say, well, you'd be too wimpy to be a part of that" Zubat said. "And anyway" Koffing continued "you'd need talent to be able to handle an Expedition!" Koffing finished.

"B-big talk!" Pika cried "Anyway, you talk about talent, but you're so weak, we beat you!" "Yes, but we didn't have the chief with us" said Koffing. "Ch-chief?" asked Pika. "Yes, our team, Team Skull, has 3 members." "The Chief is incredibly talented." "To put it bluntly, he's brutally tough." explained Koffing "If we had the Chief with us, we'd snap you like a twig, wouldn't we Koffing?" "Yep, oh, speaking about the chief, I can smell him coming right now!" "Smell?" asked a very worried Pika.

Then, a Skuntank came down the ladder where Char was standing. "Hey you, out of my way!" Skuntank launched a huge poison gas cloud at Char, who had barely any time to react. Although, time suddenly slowed down for Char and Pika as Char was suddenly engulfed by a yellow aura. "Char, quickly launch an ember attack at the Poison Gas!" said Pika, not wasting any time.

So, Char fired an Ember attack, which turned into a Flamethrower, at the cloud. Char may have protected himself, but the mixture of fire and gas didn't go well. 'BOOOOOOOOM!!!!' The explosion engulfed the first floor of the guild, shooting Team Skull up and out of the guild and knocking out all of the Guild Members, but, somehow Pika managed to avoid being wiped out by the blast.

After time returned to normal, Char asked "Pika, are you alright? How'd you survive an explosion that big?" Char asked. "Well, it's a very long story, but let's just say I've survived bigger explosions before...Anyway, how'd you slow time for us two?" "I have no idea..."

The next day, after completing jobs, reviving Guild Recruits and the morning assembly...

"HEY, TEAM FLAMETAIL!!! COME HERE!!!" yelled Loudred as the other recruits climbed the ladder to the Bulletin Boards. "Sorry, but I have something else I have to do today. Please complete Sentry Duty today. Bye!" said Diglett as he burrowed away. "OK, so do you TWO remember how to COMPLETE Sentry Duty?"

"Yep, we remember" replied Pika. "OK, so let's get to WORK!" Pika and Char climbed down to the Sentry Post and worked all day again. Pika identified a Skitty, Golbat, Caterpie and Chikorita, while Char identified a Chimchar, Sceptile, Munchlax and a Gengar. Afterwards, they climbed back up to the Guild, where Chatot announced their perfect score and gave them 400Pokè, a Reviver Seed, Violent Seed, Pure Seed and an Escape Orb.

Later that night...

"Today was great, wasn't it Char, but I've remembered something about the Sky Tower, which is the tower of clouds you mentioned. It all happened a long time ago, when Rescue Teams, which were teams of PokÁèm0n who rescued Pokémon from the unbelievable rate of Natural Disasters that were happening all the time back then, existed instead of Exploration Teams. Anyway, I was in a Rescue Team with another Pokémon who, unfortunately, I've forgotten almost everything about, was also a human transformed into a Pokémon like you. Well, we found out that the huge number of Natural Disasters was being caused by a meteor heading straight at the world! So, we were teleported to Sky Tower, via an Alakazam's and a Xatu's Teleport Gem, to meet the only Pokémon who could save the world, Rayquaza. We climbed the 34 floors to meet him, but he wouldn't listen to us about the meteor, so we battled against him. The only thing I can remember after that is that after we won, I looked up and saw the meteor heading straight for us. I quickly explained the situation to Rayquaza, then he powered up and fired a Hyper Beam at the meteor, causing the biggest explosion ever. But, that's it, sorry I can't tell you anymore..." Pika finished.

"That's alright; you were able to give me enough information about it, thanks!" "It's getting late, though, so we'd better go to sleep, good night Pika..."

Meanwhile...

"Yes, another one!" a mysterious Pokémon ran through a cavern to a Time Gear. "Now, I only have three left, hopefully I will get them all in time..."

Back at the Guild...

"Now Guild, we have some temporary visitors to the Guild!" said Chatot. Everyone started talking amongst themselves. "New allies, huh?" said Bidoof. "I wonder who it could be?" said Sunflora. Suddenly, the floor was filled with a terrible stench. "Ewww! What smells?" asked Sunflora. "It sure is a mighty terrible smell, yup yup!" said Bidoof.

Then, Team Skull climbed down the ladder and walked over to the front of the assembly. "Hi, I'm Zubat." "I'm Koffing, glad to meet you!" "I'm Skuntank; remember it, especially you two, claw-haw-haw..." He looked at Pika and Char. "Oh, have you already met? Well, that simplifies things!" Chatot said. "You could say that" Pika said quietly. "These Pokémon will be joining us on the Expedition, so to give them a chance to start teamwork with us, they will be staying with us for a few days" explained Chatot.

"Whaaat!" cried Pika. "Hmm? Why are you so shocked?" asked Chatot. "Oh, don't be worried about him Chatot; he overreacts to any little thing." Skuntank told Chatot. "Alright...well, they will be staying here for a few days, so treat them politely" said Chatot. Everyone started talking amongst each other. "Hmm, I hope this expedition is over soon, yup yup!" whispered Bidoof. "Yeah, can't Chatot see that this STINKS, literally?!" Loudred said. "Okay Pokémon, let's get to work!" shouted Chatot.

"Hooray..." said everyone quietly. "Hmmm? Where's all your spirit gone?" asked Chatot. "Are you KIDDING?!!! This STINKS!!! How can you expect us to be cheerful when...?" Suddenly, the Guild started shaking violently, stopping Loudred from speaking. "What's this, an earthquake?" asked Pika. Chatot turned around and saw Wigglytuff getting angry. "YOOOOMMM!!!!! YOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!" said Wigglytuff.

"Oh no! The Guildmaster! His rage is building! Quick everyone! Be cheerful even if it hurts!" yelled Chatot over the rumbling and Wigglytuff. "Okay Pokémon, let's get to work!" shouted Chatot.

"HOORAY!!!" everyone cheered. Wigglytuff instantly calmed down and the earthquake stopped suddenly. Then, everyone quickly ran off to complete another day of Guild work, including Team FlameTail...

Later that night, after dinner...

After confirming that everyone was asleep, Team Skull quietly walked over toward the mess hall. "That dinner was pathetic! I'd never get full with food like that!" Koffing grumbled. "Hey chief, what are we doing?" asked Zubat. "Shhhh! We're going to find the Guild's stock of food so we can have a proper meal. So, keep quiet! Claw-haw-haw!"

The Next Morning...

Team FlameTail, come here please." said Chatot. Pika and Char walked over to Chatot, who was looking worried. "Your job today is to restock the larder." "Larder? You mean food?" "Precisely Pika. For some unknown reason, the guild has suddenly run low on supplies. Furthermore, there was one item that was completely cleaned out, the Perfect Apples." "Perfect Apples? What are they?" asked Char." Chatot explained "Perfect Apples are very big, very delicious apples, which happen to be the Guildmaster's favourite food. If he was to get no perfect apples, then the Guildmaster would...would..." "Yes? What would happen to the Guildmaster Chatot?" asked Char. "H-he would...um.........erk! Yes, that's what would happen!" "Huh? I didn't hear you Chatot. Oh well, Pika, let's go! Er, where are we going exactly Chatot?" "You will be going to Apple Woods. The Perfect Apples will be in the deepest part of the forest. Good luck, and whatever you do, don't fail! Remember, this is about the Guildmaster's.........erk!"

"Don't worry! We won't fail! Let's go Pika! Off to Apple Woods!" Near the mess hall, Team Skull was listening to what was going on. "Heh-heh! They have to go foraging in the woods for some apples, just because we had ourselves a big feast last night!" smirked Koffing. "A thankless task, thanks to us!" Skuntank declared quietly. "Hey, let's mess with them." said Zubat. So, while Pika and Char headed out to Apple Woods, Team Skull followed them closely and quietly...

Later, at Apple Woods...

Apple Woods was full of grass type Pokémon, so Char defeated most of the Pokémon that got in their way, although Pika had to be careful, since his Thundershock didn't cause much damage to the wild Pokémon. They were both able to level up to level 15, so the dungeon turned out to be a great training experience. By the time Pika and Char reached Deep Apple Woods, it was afternoon.

They looked up at a huge tree in the middle of a clearing. "Hey Pika, are those Perfect Apples?" "I guess so, let's have a look." When they got there, they realised that there were only 7 Perfect Apples left on the tree. "Hmmm...how are we going to get them Char?" "That's easy!" said a familiar voice from on the top of the tree.

Then, Team Skull jumped from the tree, shaking the ground and causing the apples to fall onto the ground. "Team Skull?! What are you doing here?!" Pika shouted. "We were just helping out...now hurry up, pick up the apples and scurry off back to the guild now." Koffing said. "You're going to pull a dirty trick on us, aren't you?!" Char said. "Aww, you still don't trust us, even after we just helped you?" Skuntank said.

There was a long silence, which was broken by Pika. "We aren't falling for your tricks!" he exclaimed. "Colour me surprised! They didn't fall for our trick after all!" cried Zubat. "I knew it..." whispered Pika. "Ok, since you want a fight, we'll take you on, fair and square!" Skuntank said as he and Koffing stood next to each other, ready to fight, although Zubat backed away from the two. "Be careful Char, they're up to something!" "Now, Koffing and I will unleash our...Noxious Gas Combo Special!"

Skuntank said as both Koffing and himself launched two simultaneous Poison Gas attacks at Team FlameTail. Char felt the fire power flow again and launched it as a shield. Unfortunately, he couldn't get over to Pika to shield him.

"Waaaahhhhhh!" yelled Pika as the gas cloud enveloped him. Char felt a strange power engulf him as he started glowing orange. He was sped up and his attacks were stronger. Char quickly shot an Ember attack, which turned into a Flamethrower attack, at Skuntank, but the Poison Cloud got in the way...

'BBBBOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM' The Explosion shot Team Skull far away, but it also engulfed and knocked Pika unconscious. "Oh no!" Char ran over to Pika. "Well, he's alive, but these injuries are bad! I'll have to get him back to the Guild before it's too late!" "Hey, small Charmander! Maybe I can help!" From out of the trees came a Grovyle.

"I saw your battle, you're gifted with the Time Control Ability, which a friend of mine had, although I haven't seen him for a while...anyway, I'm faster than you, so I could get your friend to the Guild very quickly. I just have one question." "Yes, what is it?" "Where is the Guild?"

"Oh, travel west for 20km, then travel southwest until you reach the crossroads." "Ok, now, I need you to promise that you don't tell anyone, not even this Pikachu, who I am or where you saw me." "Ok, I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you, bye!" said the Grovyle as he quickly ran off. "...Huh? What was that in his Treasure Bag? They looked like some sort of small blue-green gears...oh well, I'd better bring these apples back to the guild..." thought Char as he placed the apples into his Treasure Bag and headed off back to the Guild.

5 Days Later...

"Ohhhhhh, my head..." mumbled Pika as he got out of bed. "Good morning Char...Char? Hey Chimecho, where's Char?" "He's out in the assembly area, waiting, like everyone else, for you to wake up." "Huh? What happened?"

"Char explained that while on a mission to get some Perfect Apples, Team Skull were waiting at the Perfect Apple tree to ambush you. They used a combination of very toxic gases to try to knock you out for a long while, but Char's Flamethrower got in the way and it caused a huge explosion, sending Team Skull blasting away and leaving you seriously injured. Luckily, you both made it back here just in time though."

"Wow, is that what happened? I don't remember much..." "Well, you were asleep for a few days, Oh well, sorry to interrupt, but I should call the guild in here...Everyone! Pika's awake!" shouted Chimecho. Suddenly, the room was packed with Guild members.

"Are you alright, Pika?" asked Chatot. "Yep, I'm fine." Pika replied. "Yes! I can't believe you're alright! This is brilliant!" shouted Char. "Everyone was really worried!" said Sunflora. "You gave everyone quite a scare, yup!" said Bidoof. "But, hey, hey, hey, It's good to see you're ok again!" said Corphish. "By the way, who made the expedition, Chatot?" asked Pika. "Oh, of course, the expedition members..." Chatot mumbled. "Everyone! It's time for the morning briefing! Let's quickly go to the assembly area." yelled Chatot over all of the talking recruits.

Everyone ran over to the assembly area as quickly as possible. "Now that everyone's here, I will read the Guildmaster's memo, Guildmaster, the memo please." Wigglytuff handed the memo over to Chatot. "This memo has the names of all of the Expedition members, which I will now read out..." There was a small silence, which was broken by Chatot.

"The 1st team is Loudred, Sunflora, Bidoof and Chimecho!" "Wow, we got chosen?!" said a stunned Sunflora. "Well, it's only NATURAL that I'd get CHOSEN!!!" exclaimed Loudred.

"Anyway, the next team is...Croagunk, Dugtrio, Corphish and Diglett." "We're a solid team" said Dugtrio. "Hey, hey, hey, let's get this done!" said Corphish.

"The Guildmaster and I will accompany each other." "Awww! I have to go with Chatot? That's soooo boooring!" complained Wigglytuff. "Please, don't make this difficult, this is a key element to our strategy..." Chatot answered. Wigglytuff paused, then said "Meanie"

"Anyway, our final team is" Chatot paused to try to add suspense "Team FlameTail!" "And, that's the end of the briefing, now... huh? What? Whaaaaaat? Guildmaster, this list seems to include the whole Guild crew!" "That's right!"

"But that means that the entire selection process was meaningless! Furthermore, we can't just leave the Guild unattended!" "Don't worry! We'll lock up properly! And besides, having the whole Guild come will make the trip a lot more fun!" Wigglytuff explained.

"Alright...everyone! Listen up!" shouted Chatot. "We will be leaving for Fogbound Lake shortly, so you should all get packed and ready for the long journey. Remember, this is a Guild-Exclusive Expedition, so no non-guild members may accompany you. When you're ready, meet everyone back here. That is all."

20 Minutes Later...

Ok, now that everyone's here and that I have all of your attention, please open your Wonder Maps. Everyone opened their Wonder Maps as Chatot showed everyone a large version of a Wonder Map. "This is the Guild." Chatot pointed to a Wigglytuff symbol.

"And this is where Fogbound Lakes supposed location is. Since no one has been there, it has clouds covering it on the map." Chatot pointed to a cloud on the map approximately 100km from the Guild. Since it is such a long distance away, we will make a base camp, which will be situated here." Chatot pointed to a spot just outside of the border of the clouds and just inside of a forest, around 60km from the Guild.

"Now, is everyone with their groups?" "Yes!" exclaimed everyone. "Ok, now let's go!" shouted Chatot as everyone climbed the ladders, walked out of the Guild and went along their separate paths. Team FlameTail, after thinking long and hard, decided on a coastal route, since going along the coast was the quickest way of getting to Base Camp...


	7. The Treasure Of Labyrinth Cave

_**Chapter 7 The Treasure Of Labyrinth Cave**_

"Finally, we made it!" announced Pika as they reached a cliff with a cave in the side of it. The cave was known as the Coast Cave, since it went along the coast. "Now, we only have to go 35km more to reach the Base Camp! Now that we've made it here, Char, where do you think we should go next?" asked Pika as he unrolled the Wonder Map.

"Hmmm, how about here?" asked Char as he pointed to a cave that went through the mountain range. "Labyrinth Cave? Ok, but as the name describes, it's a labyrinth in there! Although, there is a rumour of a fantastic treasure there, so ok!" Let's try to get there, then get to the Base Camp!"

Coastal Cave was full of Water type Pokémon, so Pika did most of the battling, although Char could strengthen his own attacks occasionally with Metal Claw. On the way through the cave, they found a Violent Seed, Special Band and strange items called a ????? Flower, some Tulips, Glowing White Feathers, a Rainbow Wing and a mysterious glowing yellow Star...

After getting through the Dungeon...

"Hmm, it's getting late" said Pika as the Sun's light started fading fast and the sun was setting, "I think we should camp out here." "I agree, if we tried to get through the cave, it would be night as soon as we get inside. So, for the time being, we'll have to stay here..."

The Next Morning at the entrance to Labyrinth Cave...

"Char, wake up." Char opened his eyes and looked up. He saw the entrance to Labyrinth Cave. "Are you ready to go inside?" Pika asked. "Yes, but are you ready? You sound worried" asked Char as he stood up. "Well, I'm not too worried, it's just that this is Labyrinth Cave, I'm worried about how to find our way out, since no one's gotten through before..."

"Well, don't worry Pika, we've been able to get through all of the dungeons that we've been in so far, you just have to think of this dungeon as being one of them." "Ok...Char! Let's go into this cave and come out victorious!" shouted a very brave Pika.

They walked into the cave and couldn't believe it. The rooms were very small and the corridors were very long, it was definitely a labyrinth. But, Team FlameTail only had to worry about navigation, not enemy Pokémon, since the enemy Pokémon (Nidoran and Machop just to name a few) were some of the weakest Pokémon they had to fight.

Unfortunately, when they finally reached the ground floor, a level 25 Gabite challenged them. The battle was phenomenal, with sparks, fireballs and rocks flying everywhere, but in the end, Team FlameTail came out of the battle victorious.

The Gabite said "Wow, you both are quite impressive battlers! So you can remember this encounter, please take this." Gabite handed Char a treasure box. "Quickly Char open it, it might be the treasure!" said Pika excitedly. Char opened the treasure box to find...

...a glowing Scale and a peculiar egg. "That scale is one of my scales, it heals any kind of sickness, from a headache to fatal diseases and the egg, well I don't know anything about it other than it can only hatch using a Power Star and that it's white with big red spots all over it." Ok, thank you Gabite, you're really generous!" "Anytime Pika, see you Char!"

Later that Afternoon...

"Where have you two been? Everyone else arrived hours ago. You're late!" Chatot shouted at Pika and Char. "Sorry, but we went through Labyrinth Cave which took us a while to get through..." Pika said. "Don't lie to me! You know as well as everyone that Labyrinth Cave is impassable!" Chatot said angrily.

"Chatot, we have proof, see for yourself!" said Char as he took the Gabite Scale out of the Treasure Bag. "This is a Gabite Scale, given to us by Gabite of the Labyrinth Cave!" "Well, those scales are rare, but it doesn't convince me!" said Chatot. "Well then, I'll show you what else we got! Pika, the egg please." Pika handed the peculiar egg to Char. "This egg was given to us by Gabite, although we don't know what kind of egg it is..." Chatot took the egg from Char and examined it. "Hmmm, sorry, but I can't identify this egg either, but this, and the scale, is proof enough for me, sorry for doubting you..." Chatot said while staring suspiciously at Team FlameTail, as if he still didn't believe them.

"It's alright Chatot; even we can't believe we made it through, right Char?" "Right, oh, I almost forgot, Chatot, what's this?" Char got the glowing yellow star out of the Treasure Bag and placed it next to the egg. But then, the egg and star started glowing a bright yellow, then the star vanished in a bright flash into the egg.

"What was that?!" asked the guild members as they came running over to see what had happened. "This egg just absorbed what I think was a Power Star. You know what's going to happen now Char, don't you!" Pika said, both worried and excited. "W-what's going to happen now?" Chatot managed to say. "Just watch..." said Char. Then, the egg suddenly split down the middle, opened up and a small red dinosaur came out.

"Hey, hey, look at him!" said Corphish. "Awww, he's so cute!" said Sunflora. "Hello little dinosaur, what's your name?" asked Char. He looked up at Char and said cheerfully "Yoshi!" "Ok, so now we know what to call you, do you know where you are?" Yoshi looked around for a while, then he said "I'm with you, Char." "Huh? How do you know my name?" "I can listen to things while inside my egg." "Wow, for a baby, Yoshi is very smart!" said Pika. "So, do you know where your family is Yoshi?" asked Chatot.

"I don't have one, but since Team FlameTail were nice enough to care for me while I was an egg, and Char hatched me, I think I'll stay with them, if that's alright with them, of course." "Of course you can stay with us!" said Char. "I couldn't refuse a new FlameTail recruit!" said Pika. "Ok, it's settled then! Yoshi is now not only a member of the guild, but he is also an Official Member of Team FlameTail! Here is your badge and free apple!" said Wigglytuff.

Yoshi suddenly shot out a tongue twice the size of his body and grabbed the apple with it. Then, his super sticky tongue went back into his mouth along with the apple. "Oh my gosh! What just happened?" asked Sunflora. "Hey, hey, how'd you do that?" asked Corphish. "Now that's a mighty fast tongue you've got there Yoshi!" said Bidoof. "Every Yoshi has a tongue like that, it's our special ability." Char suddenly remembered the strange items from Coastal Cave. "Hey Yoshi, do you know what these are?" Char showed Yoshi the strange items. "The tulips turn me into a large Yoshi egg for a short time, which allows me to fly in a straight line with extreme speed, the feathers give me the ability to fly anywhere for a long period of time, the Rainbow Wing is for the legendary rainbow bird, Ho-oh and I don't know what that flower does..." Yoshi shot out his tongue and swallowed the ????? Flower.

Then, Yoshi exploded into a ball of white hot flame. "Yoshi!!!" Pika cried. "Oh no!" shouted Char. The flames continued to burn for about 10 seconds, then they suddenly disappeared. In their place stood a fully grown Red Yoshi. "Wow..." Char whispered. "Whew, he's alright..." sighed Pika. "What happened?" said Char. "I don't know, but it appears I'm fully grown now. Us grown up red Yoshis are the only Yoshis who can breathe fire and grow wings at the same time for a while after using a Power Flower" explained Yoshi.

"Well, it's good to hear that you're informed well with the 'Yoshi' species. Maybe you could teach me a thing or two about them sometime" Chatot said, "Anyway, I almost forgot, everyone! To the entrance to Foggy Forest! We're holding a briefing there!" Chatot announced.

When arriving at Foggy Forest, Char felt a huge sense of Déjà-vu. "Hmm, what's this? I've got a strange feeling that I know this place! But, how can that be?" Char thought. "Now crew" Chatot started explaining "it is said that Fogbound Lake is found past Foggy Forest. Therefore, we will venture through the forest in order to try to discover the elusive lake.

"Um, if I may interrupt..." started Chimecho. "Go ahead Chimecho" said Chatot. "Thank you. On the way to base camp, I heard a rumour of Fogbound Lake, about a Pokémon named Uxie. Uxie is said to be able to wipe anyone's memory clean." "What?!" thought Char. "That is the believed reason why Fogbound Lake has eluded discovery" finished Chimecho.

"By golly!" exclaimed Bidoof. "I won't let Uxie wipe MY memory!" yelled Loudred. "Don't worry, you're so forgetful, you probably don't even remember that we're on an expedition right now!" said Sunflora. "HUH? We're on an EXPEDITION?!! So that's why we're not at the guild..." Loudred said loudly.

"Quiet please!" Chatot shouted. Everyone fell silent. "Now, you will be trying to find Fogbound Lake, but a search will be near impossible because of this fog! So you all have two missions, one: find Fogbound Lake and two: find a way to clear the fog. If you succeed in either of these two missions, report back to either me or the Guildmaster. Now you may go."

Everyone headed off into the woods, including Team FlameTail (Char, Pika and Yoshi). But, Char stopped at the entrance. "I wonder, does this sense of familiarity signal that I have met Uxie before? Maybe he wiped my memory clean..." "Char, what's wrong? It's odd for you to drift off into thought like that" said Pika as he came back.

Char told Pika what had been happening since arriving at Base Camp. "Well, don't worry about it; it just gives us another mission: find out what really happened! Let's go!" Char started walking but then... "Hey Char, look at this!" Char ran over to Pika, who was holding a glowing red rock. "Wow, it feels warm! Almost like lava." "Really? Let me hold it. Le-lum!" Yoshi licked up the stone. "Ahhhhh! Yoshi! Spit it out!" yelled Pika.

"Ptooo!" Yoshi spat the stone back out into his hands. "Here you go!" "Uhhhhh, you can keep it, but keep it in your Treasure Bag! It's not food!" said Pika. "Don't worry, Yoshis can eat almost anything, but we don't eat rocks! Also, we're able to turn things into eggs without digesting them, so we're able to hide anything that we don't want to lose or anyone that we don't want to eat."

"Ok...let's go, Char..."


	8. Groudon's Heart

_**Chapter 8 Groudon's Heart**_

Foggy Forest was similar to Apple Woods, they both had plants and trees almost everywhere and they also were about the same size, although apart from that, they couldn't be any more different from each other. It was very foggy, so visibility was very limited.

It was so limited, that Yoshi almost ate Pika and Char 10 times each. Also, Pika and Char almost walked straight into wild Pokémon, but fortunately, Char usually had a type or power advantage and Pika was able to power up his ThunderShock with a Special Band.

After getting through, Team FlameTail found themselves in a foggy clearing with waterfalls that appeared to be falling from the sky... "We've finally gotten through the forest, although I can't see Fogbound Lake, only waterfalls falling from somewhere into large pools of water..." Pika said. "They have to be coming down from some source of water, maybe a lake?" Yoshi thought aloud. "Well, even if there was a lake above us, I don't know how we'd ever be able to get up there" said Char.

"Hey, hey, hey, there's something here!" shouted a familiar voice. "Hey, look over there, I think its Corphish, let's see what he's found" said Pika. The three ran over to Corphish, who was standing next to a large statue of a Pokémon. "What is that?" asked Pika. "It appears to be a statue of the continent Pokémon, Groudon" explained Yoshi. "Hey, hey, how do you know so much about Pokémon?" asked Corphish. "Yeah, it's like you're a Pokémon Encyclopaedia!" Char said.

"I actually don't know how I know these things; I guess I'm just lucky..." Yoshi said. "Hey look, I found an inscription on the side of the statue!" Pika shouted. Everyone ran over to Pika, who started reading the footprint runes. "It says, 'Re-ignite the life that burned within Groudon...then the path to the treasure will be revealed.' Path to the treasure? That must mean that the statue holds the secret to getting to Fogbound Lake!" cried a very excited Pika.

"I'll go report to the Guildmaster while you figure out the secret" Corphish said as he ran off. "Hey Char, I just thought of something, try touching the stone" Pika suggested. "Oh yeah, the visions, good idea." "What? How will touching the statue help you at all?" asked Yoshi. "Char has a special ability where sometimes if he touches something, he can see or hear about its past or future." "Oh, you mean the Dimensional Scream."

"Huh? Is that what it's called?" asked Char. "Yes, some Pokémon or humans are born with the ability, so it can't be learned. When someone who has this ability touches something, sometimes images and/or sounds travel through the dimensions and into the Pokémon, human, or in your case, human turned into a Pokémon."

"Oh, ok, well I'm going to see if I can use the Dimensional Scream now." Char touched the statue. "...Well Char, do you feel anything yet?" "Hmmm, not yet...! The familiar dizziness...Here it comes..."

Everything went black, then Char heard someone strangely familiar yell 'It's here! The Groudon Statue!', then Char returned to the present. "What was that? I only heard a voice, but who was it?...! What?...one straight after another?...Oh well..." thought Char as he blacked out yet again.

Char heard another familiar voice saying 'Place the Drought Stone into Groudon's Heart, which lifts the fog! Well done, good job partner!'

Then Char returned to the present, but he wasn't leaning on the statue anymore. Instead he was lying on the ground near the statue with Pika and Yoshi watching him, both looking worried. "Hey, what's wrong?" asked Char. "You just collapsed" said Yoshi. "What happened to you Char? We were worried" said Pika. "Well, I had two Dimensional Screams, so I became extremely dizzy so the dizziness must have caused me to collapse. But, I know what to do now, Yoshi, get that warm gem, or Drought Stone." Yoshi got the stone.

"Now, place it into Groudon's chest." explained Yoshi. "You mean here? Ok." Yoshi placed the Drought Stone into Groudon's Chest. Suddenly, the statues eyes flickered a brilliant red. Shortly after, the ground shook, then the whole statue glowed white. "Quickly, get away from the statue!" yelled Char as Team FlameTail ran away from the statue.

Suddenly, the light engulfed the whole area and Pika, expecting something bad to happen, shouted "Wahhhhhhhhh!!!!" Then, the light faded, and Team FlameTail found themselves in a visible clearing in the middle of Foggy Forest, which wasn't so foggy anymore.

"Hey, it looks like the runes were right! The path to the treasure must have been revealed when the fog disappeared! Let's go..." Pika said. "Wait! Before we head off, look up!" said Yoshi. Char and Pika looked up to see a lake on the top of a huge rock tower.

"Wow, that's amazing!" said Pika. "It looks like a tower of rocks, like Sky Tower, but smaller" Char said. "Huh? Oh, the lake, I guess that's amazing, but I was talking about the sun, it's in the middle of the sky, that means we've spent all night and almost all day in this forest." "Ok, well then, we'd better hurry then! Let's go! To search for the path to the treasure!" exclaimed Char.


	9. Fogbound Lake's Guardian

**Chapter 9 Fogbound Lake's Guardian**

After an hour long search, Team FlameTail finally found an entrance to a cave which ascended up to the top of the tower-like rock mountain. Boiling hot water pools bubbled near the cave and steam kept shooting out from around the top and sides of the entrance. "I'm guessing that this dungeon, which I'm going to call 'Steam Cave', is going to be very hot inside, which would be perfect conditions for Fire Type Pokémon" Char guessed. "That's just what I was thinking..." Pika said, although Pika was actually thinking about whether they had enough Rawst Berries. "It doesn't matter what the conditions are, we can get through if we try our hardest!" said Yoshi, who was determined to find the treasure. "That's the spirit! Ok, let's go!" Pika and Char cheered.

Steam Cave was, as Char predicted, full of Fire Type Pokémon, so Yoshi was the best fighter in the dungeon. He ate all of the Slugma and the fire attacks, and was able to digest and turn them into flaming red Yoshi eggs, which could overpower even the toughest Slugma.

After ascending to Upper Steam Cave, FlameTail decided to have a short rest before continuing the long and fiery climb. But, as soon as they started heading towards the entrance to the higher part of the Climb, something at the far end of the cave roared. "What was that?" Pika asked, a bit nervous. "Sorry, but the noise is too far away for me to be able to identify what Pokémon it is" said Yoshi." "Well, it doesn't matter what Pokémon it is, all we have to do is climb to the top, see the lake, talk to Uxie, then report back to base camp. It's as simple as that!" Char said bravely. "Ok, if it's that simple, then we'll be sure to complete our missions before the roaring Pokémon gets to us. C'mon then, let's go!" shouted Pika. Unfortunately for Team FlameTail though, it wasn't that simple at all.

When they reached the top, the ground shook every second, almost as if something very big was walking towards them, although none of the FlameTail members could see over the rocky cliffs next to them. When the creature roared, it sounded extremely close, its noise filled Pika, Char and Yoshi of a feeling of extreme danger.

Meanwhile, at the Groudon Statue...

"So, is this where you saw Team FlameTail and unlocked the path to the treasure?" Chatot asked Corphish. "Yes, it was also where we lifted the fog. Pika placed a red stone into the statue; that made the fog clear. Afterwards, I saw them walk over to that cave over there" Corphish said as he pointed at Steam Cave. "Alright then, guild! Let's keep going! Forward to Fogbound Lake!" Chatot shouted to the guild. "Hooray!" was their reply.

Meanwhile, at the entrance to Steam Cave...

I'll just sneak through here while they aren't watching..." thought a mysterious Pokémon as he quickly ran into Steam Cave.

Meanwhile, hiding within the guild's group...

"I wonder who that was, sneaking into the entrance..."

Up at the peak of Steam Cave...

"W-what's happening?!" Pika managed to say as a massive Pokémon walked right in front of them. "It's...It's..." Yoshi stammered. "I AM GROUDON! GUARDIAN OF FOGBOUND LAKE!" "Exactly..." said Yoshi quietly.

In Steam Cave...

"Chatot, what is a Groudon?" Corphish asked as the guild kept running through Steam Cave, pushing aside any wild Pokémon that dared to get in their way. "Groudon is a legendary Pokémon who is believed to have created the continents. He is an extremely strong Pokémon." Chatot quickly answered before beating an annoying Slugma. "Could you battle a Pokémon like him?" asked Corphish. "No way! To fight a Pokémon like Groudon, it would be the same as throwing your life away! He is that strong!" "Oh..." said Corphish, now deep in thought as to how strong Groudon could possibly be...

At Fogbound Lake's Entrance...

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS, INTRUDER!" Groudon said menacingly. "W-wait Groudon! We aren't intruders or bad Pokémon! We're an exploration team! I mean, sure we might be looking for treasure..." Groudon snarled at Pika. "...B-but we'll leave with nothing if you'll let us leave!" Pika quickly said, terrified. "YOU WILL NOT LEAVE, INTRUDER! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" Then, the area flashed with light somehow, then the battle began. After the flashes, the area became very sunny, which powered up fire-type attacks.

Char started with a Flamethrower aimed straight at Groudon. Groudon shook it off as if it was nothing. Next, Pika fired a Thunderbolt at Groudon. Groudon didn't even flinch. Lastly, Yoshi shot his tongue at Groudon. Strangely, it went straight through him. "Oh, I know what's going on! Groudon is a hologram! It's harmless!" exclaimed Yoshi. Groudon fired a Solarbeam which hit a rock behind Team FlameTail. As soon as the rock exploded into a million pieces, Pika started yelled at Yoshi 'Does that look harmless to you!' and the Shadow Visor was activated on Char's Snag Machine. Unfortunately, all Char saw was a hazy, cloudy aura, but the Snag Machine had indicated a reading on the visor. It read 'Shadow Ghost Pokémon Found-Species Unknown'. "Well, at least I know what to watch out for, a shadow ghost..." Char thought. Then, the truth hit him. "Groudon, you're not attacking us, are you?" Char asked. "Of course not, I'm attacking that intruder ghost Pokémon behind Pika!" Groudon said quietly. "So, you aren't attacking us?!" Yoshi said, shocked. "I just said that!" Groudon said, annoyed that Yoshi wasn't listening. Pika and Yoshi each breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, you could have made that clearer" Pika said. Then, Pika and Yoshi realised what Groudon had said. "Huh? What ghost Pokémon?" Pika and Yoshi both said at the same time, both looking everywhere. "I'll show you." Char said as he powered up a Heat Wave attack. But, to his shock, the ghost went straight at him. Char quickly fired a very powerful Flamethrower before the Heat Wave could power up fully, but not before he was hit by a Shadow Punch. Char fell back to the ground, the ghost disappeared and a Dimensional Scream started. Char saw a Grovyle and a human running from a group of ghost Pokémon through a familiar forest led by a larger ghost Pokémon, then the vision stopped and Char found himself standing in front of a small, levitating Pokémon. "Char and Pika, this is Uxie, the Knowledge Pokémon. He is a psychic-type, so he was able to create the Groudon illusion with his mind" explained Yoshi. "I am also the Guardian of Fogbound Lake" said Uxie. "Hi..." Pika and Char both said quietly. "Don't worry, I won't attack, I could sense that your group were good as soon as you reached Foggy Forest. That ghost has been following you ever since you reached the Groudon statue, but it's gone now, thanks to Char. Anyway, if you came all this way to see Fogbound Lake, then come this way..." Uxie pointed to a clearing 500m away. "Let's go FlameTail, to Fogbound Lake finally!" Char cheered.

When the group walked off, a mysterious Pokémon quietly and cautiously walked behind them. "I'm nearly there, the 3rd Time Gear will be mine soon" he thought...


	10. Time At The Lake

**Chapter 10 Time At The Lake**

Uxie lead Team FlameTail outside to the lake. When they reached it, Pika couldn't believe his eyes. "Wow, we spent all day in Steam Cave, it's night time now..." Pika said, amazed. "Well, it might be harder to see at night, but this is Fogbound Lake" announced Uxie. FlameTail walked up to the shore of the lake and looked out. "Fogbound Lake is a huge lake that hides a very important secret. It's surrounded by a small forest and every so often, huge geysers of water erupt, making the view even more special" Uxie explained.

"Uxie, what is the secret?" Char asked. "Look out in the middle of the lake." Char looked at the middle of the lake and saw a shining, glowing blue-green gear. "Wow..." Yoshi said. "I wonder what it is..." Pika thought aloud. "...! What is this feeling...? My heart's started racing! Why is the sight of the gear giving me such a feeling... As if I need it for some reason..." Char thought. "That, Pika, is a Time Gear. It controls time around here. Without it, time in this area would stop and we'd be trapped in time forever... That's why I'm here, to protect the Gear." "Ok..."

Suddenly, someone came running up to the Groudon hologram, which was at the entrance to the lake. "Hello friend, friendly friend!" Then, he ran around Groudon and walked up to Uxie. "Hello friendly friend!" he said, then he walked up to the shore. "Who's this?" Uxie asked. "He's our Guildmaster, Guildmaster Wigglytuff" Yoshi said. "Oh well, that's too bad" Wigglytuff said, then walked over to Char. "We can't take a Time Gear." "I know Guildmaster, although I wonder what the treasure could be..." Char thought aloud.

"Oh, I just remembered!" Pika said. He turned to Uxie. "Uxie, have you ever seen a human here or taken a human's memory?" Pika asked. "No, I've never seen a human, or taken one's memory. I should explain though, I am only able to take memories of Fogbound Lake, not someone's entire memory. Also, I can sense that Char used to be human, so there is no need to tell me. Char, the cause of your transformation and amnesia lies elsewhere." "Oh, ok..." Char said, disappointed. "Hey, Pika, Char! I've figured it out!" Yoshi said happily. "What?" Pika and Char both said together. "The treasure of Fogbound Lake is the view!" "Oh... Now I understand! Good work Yoshi!" Pika said. "Well, now that we've figured everything out, we should head back. I'll meet you three back at Base Camp, bye!" Wigglytuff said as he walked off. "See you later!" said Team FlameTail.

Suddenly, Uxie ordered Team FlameTail to be very quiet. "There's someone coming..." Uxie whispered. "Who? Where?" Pika asked. "Keep quiet and you'll hear him..." Yoshi said. Quite suddenly, a tall, green, Wood Gecko Pokémon appeared in front of them. "Grovyle? What are you doing here?" Char asked as he instantly remembered Grovyle as the Pokémon that saved Pika at Apple Woods. Then, he also remembered the gears he had seen in Grovyle's Treasure Bag... "Time Gears! You stole 2 Time Gears! But, why Grovyle, why... I thought you were a good Pokémon, on our side..." "I have no time to explain, I need the Time Gear!" Grovyle said. "No, you're not having it!" said Uxie, who was preparing for battle. "Very well then, have it your way!" said Grovyle as he used an extremely fast Extremespeed attack. It knocked Uxie out instantly. "So, are you both going to stand in my way?" Grovyle said (Yoshi ran off). "..." Pika and Char didn't say anything. Grovyle decided to run to the Time Gear so he did. What he didn't do though was watch Char's foot as he ran past Char. Trip! Bang! Grovyle fell onto the ground, face first.

"Owww! What was that for! You're trying to stop me! You asked for it Charmander!" Grovyle shot a Bullet Seed attack at Char, although Char was able to dodge the attacks by slowing down time somehow. "Darn, I forgot you could control time too, we'll see if you can dodge this!" Grovyle started glowing a bright orange, then he shot another lot of Bullet Seeds at Char, only this time the seeds flew twice as fast as before. Char saw himself glow a deep blue, then the Bullet Seeds stopped in midair and fell to the ground. "Charmander, I need this Time Gear!" "Well, you'll have to beat me, won't you?!" Char replied. "Fine, let's see if you can dodge this!" Grovyle used Extremespeed and slammed into Char, then he ran over the water, grabbed the Time Gear and ran off. Then the Dimensional Scream activated.

Char saw a human with Grovyle and they were talking about a plan. A plan that involved a calamity from taking place but, in order for the disaster to be involved, the Time Gears needed to be... Then Char regained consciousness.

2 Hours Later...

"Well, we made it back to Base Camp, but Grovyle still took the Time Gear..." Char said, although he didn't say it sadly or disappointedly, like Pika thought he might have. "Oh well, at least Yoshi alerted the Magnezone Squad, Uxie is in safe company and we get to go back to the guild tomorrow." "Well, I guess a lot of good did come out of this..."

"Pika! Char! Come here please!" Chatot called. Pika and Char sleepily walked over to Chatot. "Yes Chatot?" "Before you both go to bed, I'd like a full report on your exploration today." "Does that mean we have to say exactly everything that we learnt, saw and did today?" Char asked wearily. "Yes Char, that includes everything." "Oh well, at least we'll get sleep at the guild...I hope..." Pika said, before falling asleep right where he stood...


	11. The Power Beam

**Chapter 11 The Power Beam**

_The Next Morning, Two days later... _

"UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!" shouted Loudred. "Owww...It's been a while since we've had a Wake Up Call from Loudred..." Char sighed.

"What?! You wake up this way every morning?! If I get woken up like that again, my ears will burst!" moaned Yoshi, since that day was the first day that Yoshi had stayed at the guild. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it in about a week or two, until then though, covey your ears every morning!" Pika said.

Suddenly, Char realised. "Oh no! We've overslept again! Quick, we've got to get to the Assembly Area. Yoshi, do you remember where that is?" Char asked, testing Yoshi's memory of what Pika had explained to him the night before. "Yep, it's just down this hall!" he replied happily. So, Team FlameTail quickly ran over to the Assembly Area, arriving just in time for the Morning Cheer.

After everyone had walked off to complete their jobs, Yoshi asked "So, what shall we do today?" Less than a second later after he had finished his sentence, Loudred started yelling "WHAT? YOU CAN'T IDENTIFY A POKÁÉMON?!" Chatot quickly flew over to see what was going on.

"What's the matter, Loudred?" he asked calmly. "WELL, Sentry Diglett can't IDENTIFY a Visitor!" Loudred explained. "Diglett is an experienced sentry; it's very rare for him to be unable to identify any Pokémon. Although, if THESE three were on Sentry Duty..." he pointed to Team FlameTail "...THAT wouldn't be much of a SURPRISE!!!" Loudred finished.

"Hey! That's not fair! Remember when Diglett couldn't identify Char?" Pika said. Loudred was about to reply when the visitor started talking to Diglett. Diglett repeated everything that was said, so Chatot, Loudred and Team FlameTail could know what was being said.

"Hmmm, so you want to talk to the Guildmaster? It's important? Ok, so what's your name? Dusknoir? Ok, I'll tell him..." Diglett said. "Dusknoir?!" Loudred and Chatot said at the same time, both astonished. Yoshi noticed this and asked "Dusknoir? Who's that?"

Instead of a reply, Chatot and Loudred quickly climbed up the Guild ladders to open the gate.

_5 Minutes Later... _

Dusknoir was standing/levitating at the bottom of the stairs on the lower floor of the guild. Everyone had crowded around him, with Wigglytuff and Chatot standing next to him.

Team FlameTail was at the back of the group. Char was trying to jump so he could see who and what Dusknoir was, while Pika and Yoshi wondered aloud "Who is Dusknoir?" "What? You don't know him?" asked Dugtrio. "Well, no wonder, he's an overnight sensation!" Sunflora said. "Yep, apparently he just appeared out of thin air and he has the skills of some of the strongest Pokémon ever! He's a one-Pokémon team!" Bidoof said.

"Also, there's a rumour that he is one of the most knowledgeable Pokémon in the world as well!" Sunflora added. "Why is Guildmaster Wigglytuff being so friendly to him, even though this is the first time he's met Dusknoir?" asked Pika. "Oh, that's just our Guildmaster's nature..." Sunflora explained.

"It's an honour to be here at Wigglytuff's Guild; after all, it's famous!" Dusknoir said to Wigglytuff. "Oh, no, the honour's all ours! It's grand to have such a great explorer like yourself to visit our Guild" Wigglytuff replied. "Thank you. Anyway, I heard that you recently went on an Expedition to Fogbound Lake. How did that go?" Dusknoir asked.

"Oh, that was a failure; we didn't find or learn about anything there!" Wigglytuff lied. "Are you sure?" Dusknoir asked, obviously perplexed. "Nope, we learned and saw nothing about anything" Wigglytuff repeated.

"Well Guild! We have a visitor, Dusknoir!" Chatot announced. Everyone clapped, except for Char, since the Snag Machine made clapping impossible for him. "He will be staying in Treasure Town for a few days, so be sure to make him feel welcome here. Also, even though he maybe very knowledgeable, don't overdue your questions. Plus, please don't embarrass us by asking us for his autograph!" Chatot added.

"Oh, don't worry about that. If it's an autograph you want, I'd be happy to oblige. But Information? You flatter me, but I'm not really knowledgeable..." Then, after a short pause, the Guild clapped for Dusknoir, then Chatot said "Come on now, everyone, you're all dismissed!"

With those words, the Guild all exited the Guild to complete their daily jobs and Dusknoir levitated out of the Guild to go to Treasure Town. A few seconds is how long Char saw Dusknoir for. After seeing him, the Snag Machine went haywire and started sparking all over Char's arm.

"What's happening?" Char said before it exploded, causing thick smoke to fill the lower floor, obscuring Team FlameTail's vision. The three stood still until the smoke cleared. When it cleared, Char looked at his arms and gasped. His left arm was covered in a Snag Machine-Like armour that was customised to fit Char's arm, whereas his right arm, where the Snag Machine used to be, now had a cannon fitted on half of it.

From his right elbow to his shoulder, however, the cannon stopped and was replaced by the armour. Both parts of machinery were surprisingly light, but seemingly invincible and was coloured yellow and red. "What is this?" Char though aloud, before a symbol and two words came into his head.

A target-like symbol and the words, 'Power Beam.' "What is it Char?" Yoshi asked, since Pika was speechless. "I-I think it's a cannon that fires a Power Beam of some sort..." Char said. He then aimed at a wall and fired a single shot.

The Power Beam hit the wall and burned through 10cm of it, leaving a neat, circular, smoking indentation in the wall. "I don't think that thing is from this world..." Pika said quietly as the three continued to stare at the wall, now all speechless...

_5 Minutes Later... _

After sneaking past Chatot and some Guild Members, Team FlameTail decided to go to Beach Cave for the day, to test out Char's new Arm Cannon. First, he shot it at the solid rock wall.

A black circle stained the rock, but no damage had been caused to the rock. Second, he shot a Pink Shellos. The Power Beam instantly defeated it. Thirdly, Char decided to walk into a Monster House alone.

As the Pokémon surrounded him, Char found that the Power Beam could be fired rapidly. So, by the time that all of the enemies had appeared, all of them had been defeated, because of the rapid-fire Capability.

Finally, at the bottom of the Cave, Char fired a single shot into the water. It blasted through the surface, hitting the sea floor a few seconds later, proving that the Power Beam wasn't some sort of fire, it was some sort of an otherworldly energy.

_On The Crossroads... _

Well, that training was very unique!" Char said, admiring his Arm Cannon. "Yeah, but I wonder what that thing is or where it came from?" Yoshi asked. "Oh, that's easy, it's the Arm Cannon, given to me by Magnezone" Char said.

"Hmmm...Well just make sure that no one sees that you have it, or else there could be a panic, or something similar to that..." Pika said. "Alright, but you both have to help me keep this a secret!" Char said.

"We promise" Pika and Yoshi said together. Then, Pika and Yoshi walked through the guild with Char, concealing his Arm Cannon until they reached their crew room.

That night, Pika and Yoshi had to bring Char some food and lie to Chatot about him being sick, plus convince him not to go to the Crew Rooms, so he wouldn't see the Arm Cannon.


	12. Meeting Dusknoir

**Chapter 12 Meeting Dusknoir**

_During The Night..._

The moon was very bright. The large torches at the sides of Wigglytuff's Guild blazed brightly as Team Skull walked up to the entrance. Skuntank stopped just before the grate, with Koffing and Zubat stopping behind him.

"Ch-ch-Chief...We were really put in our place on that expedition..." Zubat stuttered. "Wigglytuff wrecked us...And I'm not going to let it go! I need payback!...One way or another...But to be honest, we don't stand a chance against Wigglytuff...Grrrr...I'm so furious! It's burning me up!" Skuntank said, anger thick through his voice.

"There's got to be some way to get back at 'em!" Koffing said. "Heh-heh! I'd settle for picking on wimps... Oh! Hey! Instead of Wigglytuff, how 'bout we get revenge on those wimps in that Team FlameTail?" Zubat suggested. Skuntank then got a look on his face as if he had just thought of the idea.

"Claw-haw! Great idea!" he said. "And we know that Team FlameTail is wimpy!" Koffing added. Then, after a minute of thinking, Skuntank said "Time to do some plotting boys! Claw-haw-haw!" And with that, Team Skull walked away...

_The Next Morning..._

During the whole assembly, Char stayed in the FlameTail Crew room so the Arm Cannon could remain a secret. After the assembly, Pika and Yoshi came to help him hide the cannon while he walked through the Guild, since the Cannon wouldn't come off of his arm.

But, as soon as the three had walked out of the Crew Room area, Chatot walked over to them. Char quickly stood behind Pika and Yoshi to conceal the Arm Cannon.

"Hey, you three! Before you complete your jobs today, I'd like you to run an errand...?" Chatot noticed Char standing behind Pika and Yoshi. Pika quickly gained Chatot's attention by saying "An errand?"

"Yes, an errand! Go to Kecleon Market, and ask the Kecleon Brothers if they plan to stock Perfect Apples." Chatot said. "You want us to ask if they'll stock Perfect Apples? At Kecleon Market? We should find out if they plan to stock Perfect Apples?" Pika asked.

Yoshi and Char sweatdropped. "Correct. The Guild's storage holds many Perfect Apples...Or, at least it can...But the Guildmaster raids the storage when we're not looking and uses up our supply. And, Pika and Char, you both know what happens when the Guildmaster doesn't get his Perfect Apples!"

Chatot said. Pika and Char shuddered at the memory of what happened last time, while Yoshi became confused. "But, having to get a fresh batch is a chore; sending a Team when the supply runs out is too much work" Chatot sighed.

"So, if Kecleon Market started stocking Perfect Apples, then we could buy them!" Pika said, before Char slapped his own forehead.

"Precisely!" Chatot announced. "Ok. We'll go visit Kecleon Market." Pika said. "Great! Way to take charge!" Chatot sang, then he exited the guild. "Phew...He's gone...Let's go..." Yoshi said, then the Team left the guild to go to the Kecleon Market.

_5 Minutes Later..._

Team FlameTail arrived at the Kecleon Market.

As a precaution to make sure that no one panicked, Pika surrounded Char with a special bubble made out of electricity, so no one could see who, or what, was inside, although Char could see out if it. Then, Char told Pika and Yoshi to tell anyone who asked that there was an extremely dangerous outlaw inside the bubble.

Anyway, the three walked up to the Market to find Dusknoir talking with the Kecleon Brothers. "Hello! You're from the guild, aren't you?" Dusknoir said as he saw Team FlameTail approach. "Yes, we're Team FlameTail, we work at the guild. It's great to meet you!" Pika replied in a cheery voice.

"So, what are you doing in town, Dusknoir, sir? Shopping?" Pika asked. "No, no. I'm simply enjoying a chat!" Dusknoir replied.

"The great Dusknoir is so very famous! We started a conversation, and what a surprising talk! The great Dusknoir is so worldly and wise! I'm impressed!" said the Green Kecleon.

"I guess the rumours are true! You must be as knowledgeable as they say!" Pika said. "Pfft! I bet he isn't! Tell me, oh great Dusknoir, what does the Arm Cannon of a Power Suit do?" Yoshi asked. Dusknoir just ignored his comment.

"Anyway, what can I do for you today Pika? Have you come to shop?" the Green Kecleon asked. "Sorry, but no. We came to ask you something today." Pika explained the details of the errand.

"Hmmm...Perfect Apples? Sorry, but we have no plans of stocking Perfect Apples." Pika sweatdropped.

"Oh, all right...That's too bad...Chatot will be disappointed with this news..." Pika said sadly. Meanwhile, in the Electric Bubble, Char noticed something happening with the Arm Cannon. It was starting to absorb the Electricity.

"Oh no! Pika! The Bubble is going to burst!" Char yelled. "Hmmm? What was that noise? It sounded like it was coming from that bubble!" Dusknoir said. "Uhhh...Actually, that was me!" Yoshi lied, then he whispered to Pika, "The bubble's going to break, give it more electricity!"

With this, Pika started electrocuting the bubble. Then, Yoshi heard someone say "Azurill, hurry!" Then, another voice yelled out "Wait for me!" Sure enough, the Marill and Azurill brothers then ran past.

"Hello boys!" the Kecleon Brothers both said. "Oh, hi Kecleon Brothers! And Team FlameTail, too!" Azurill and Marill returned the greeting. "Why are you running?" Yoshi asked, as Pika was busy dealing with the electricity bubble.

"You know how we've been looking for our lost item, the Water Float?" Marill asked. "A Water Float? Now that's a precious item!" Dusknoir said. "Yes! That's why we've been working so hard to find it. Then, someone told us that they saw a Water Float on the beach today! We're rushing to the beach now!" Azurill said. Meanwhile, watching in the shadows, Koffing and Zubat listened to the conversation.

"Heh-heh! Could be useful for our plan! We'll bring the Chief up to speed, then we'll get the jump on them!" Zubat said. Then, the two quickly fled to go tell Skuntank.

Meanwhile, back at Kecleon Market, Yoshi was still talking to the two Water Mouse Pokémon. "That's great! You can finally go get it now!" Yoshi said, while thinking 'I have no idea what these kids are talking about...'

Then, the two Water Mouse said goodbye, and ran to the beach. "I've never heard of a Water Float. What does it do?" the Green Kecleon asked Dusknoir.

"A Water Float is an item specifically designed for Azurill. It can only be obtained by trading precious treasures over and over again. Because of this, it's an exceedingly rare item" Dusknoir explained.

"Gah! Is that so? Our line of work is buying and selling, but I've never heard of it..." the Green Kecleon said. Meanwhile, the Arm Cannon had absorbed billions of Terawatts from Pika, until he finally passed out.

As soon as Pika fainted, the bubble burst, which resulted in the Arm Cannon exploding again, sending Char flying through the air, landing on the beach, but after the Water Float had been stolen...


	13. Charlotte the Charmander

**Chapter 13 Charlotte the Charmander**

The explosion had been fairly small, so it didn't catch Dusknoir's or the Kecleon Brothers' attention. Although, Yoshi noticed it. And, someone that was at the Beach noticed Char fall out of the sky and land face first into the sand.

The Pokémon walked over to Char, and noticing that his Tail Flame was burning brightly, they lifted him up, held him up by his Power Suit covered shoulders and said "Hey, wake up!"

Char moaned wearily as he struggled to open his eyes, since the explosion had taken some of his energy/health. When he did open his eyes, however, he quickly backed off from the Pokémon because he had never seen her before.

She was a Charmander, like him, except Char had a partial Power Suit; she didn't have any Power Suit. She was a normal Charmander. "Ummm...Who are you?" Char asked.

"My name's Charlotte, what's your name?" she asked. "Char" Char responded.

Then, just as she was about to say something, a strange symbol appeared in Char's head with the words 'Volt Driver.' When Char saw this symbol, he became surprised, since he had thought that the Arm Cannon only had one weapon.

Charlotte saw the surprised look on Char's face, so she asked "Hey, Char. What's the matter?"

"Watch this..." Char said as he charged up a Volt Driver shot for the first time. He then shot it out over the ocean, the small terawatt electricity ball travelling extremely fast over the water, leaving a trail of sparks where it flew.

When Char saw this, he became excited, since he knew now that he could use Electricity now whenever he wanted, like Pika... 'Pika! Oh no!' Char thought as he remembered what the Arm Cannon had done to Pika.

"Sorry, but I've got to go now. I'll see ya later!" Char told Charlotte before running to the guild. "Hey! Wait for me, Char!" Charlotte shouted as she ran after him.

When reaching the crossroads though, Char thought that there was something on his feet and legs so he looked at them.

The Power Suit Armour had spread to them. As soon as he saw this, Char tripped on a stone, fell and hit his head on the bottom step leading to the guild. He was knocked unconscious instantly.

_**2 Hours Later... **_

Char wearily opened his eyes, and saw Charlotte, Yoshi and Pika watching him. "W-what happened...?" he asked.

"You fell and hit your head. I carried you here to the guild, but you probably wouldn't have your health now if Charlotte wasn't here" Yoshi said. "Yeah, she's an expert medic, so she was able to make a medicine out of the 5 Oran Berries in the Treasure Bag. She was also able to heal my injuries from the Arm Cannon!" Pika said, obviously amazed with what Charlotte did.

"Thank you Charlotte, for saving my life. If there's anything that I can do for you, just ask" Char said. "Well, now that you mention it, could I be a member of your Exploration team?" Charlotte asked.

"Sure" Char said. "Great! Then that's settled. Charlotte is an official member of Team FlameTail!" Wigglytuff said as he suddenly appeared out of the shadows.

"...How'd you get there?" Char and Pika asked. "It's a secret!" Wigglytuff said as he disappeared into the shadows again.

"...Well, that was strange..." Charlotte said as the four stared at the shadows where Wigglytuff had been. "So anyway, have you told Chatot about the Perfect Apples yet?" Char asked Yoshi.

"Yeah; he panicked a few minutes after I told him, then he flew off to Apple Woods to get the Perfect Apples himself. Apparently, this team messed up the last time it had to collect some apples..." Yoshi said. "Actually, that wasn't our fault. Another Exploration Team, Team Skull, sabotaged the mission, resulting in our failure..." Char explained.

"Anyway, Charlotte, would you like a tour of Treasure Town, or would you like me to show you how Team FlameTail completes missions?" Char asked as he stood up. "Well, I already know about all of Treasure Town, and I've always wanted to go to the Amp Plains, so could we go to the Amp Plains?" Charlotte asked.

"Alright then, are you both coming?" Char asked Pika and Yoshi. "No thanks, I still feel tired from the electricity drain that the Arm Cannon inflicted on me..." Pika said.

"I'd come, but I'm going to the Oran Forest today. I just love Oran Berries!" Yoshi said, before jumping out the nearest window and flutter kicking in the direction of the Oran Forest. "Well, that was weird...So, we'd better get going now, or else we won't be back by dinner!" Char said.

So, the two Charmanders exited the guild, only to run into the Azurill and Marill brothers. "Oh, hi there you two! Why are you running?" Char asked. "Who are they?" Charlotte whispered. "Those two are friends of our team. Pika and I have already helped them when Azurill was kidnapped at Mt. Bristle" Char answered. "Oh, now I understand..." Charlotte said.

"Hi Char! Hello new FlameTail recruit!" Marill and Azurill said to Char and Charlotte. "My name's Charlotte"

"Nice to meet you. We need some help..." Marill said. "Help? For what?" Char asked. "For finding a Water Float!" Azurill said.

"Huh? Didn't you say earlier that there was one on the beach?" Char asked. "Char; when I was at the beach, there was no Water Float, so I think that whoever told them that was lying..." Charlotte told Char. "No, there was definitely one there! Except when we got there, we found this..." Marill said, disappointed.

Marill handed a piece of paper over to Charlotte.

"Hmmm...This says 'The Water Float from the beach is now in our possession. Just try to take it from us! We'll wait in the deepest part of Amp Plains. But, knowing how weak and puny you are, I bet you can't even reach us! Claw-haw-haw! Can't handle it? Go cry to your big-shot friends! Claw-haw-haw!' Wait a minute, this is a ransom note! Looks like it's been written by a bully! And, I bet that it's a trap! Don't go to the Amp Plains, no matter what!" Charlotte told the Water Mouse Brothers.

"But the Water Float is very important to us. We really want to get it back. But I can't take Azurill to a dangerous place...I went to Amp Plains by myself, but heaps of Electric-type Pokémon live there! I couldn't get through...I tried going many times, but I keep failing instantly...I c-c-can't stand how weak I am..." Marill started to cry.

"Don't worry you two; Charlotte and I were going to the Amp Plains anyway, so we'll get your Water Float back for you!" Char said. "Really? You'll go get it for us?!" Azurill asked. "Yep, so no more tears!" Char said.

"Ok! We're sorry to bother you with this... Thank you!" Marill said, feeling much happier.

"Don't worry about it. We're going to get your Water Float now! Let's go Charlotte, to the Amp Plains! But, before we leave, where is Amp Plains?" Char asked as he took his Map out of the Treasure Bag. Charlotte pointed to a place in the North-East of Treasure Town, past Mt. Bristle.

"Ok, then let's go! Your first mission has now officially started!" Char said.

'Wow, I always dreamed of joining an Exploration Team, and now I'm actually part of a mission! This is so exciting!' Charlotte thought as the two Charmanders of Team FlameTail walked down the Eastern Road of the Crossroads...

_**3 Hours later...**_

"Here it is, Char! The entrance to Amp Plains!" Charlotte said as they both reached the entrance. "Yep, in this dungeon are some outlaws that we're going to capture. Are you ready?" Char asked.

"Yes! Let's go!" Charlotte exclaimed.

Amp Plains was definitely filled with electric types; there was one that attacked around every corner! Char managed to keep electric types away with the Power Beam when he figured out that he had to use his mind to switch the Arm Cannon's weapons, while Charlotte used Flamethrower, which was a long-distance and powerful attack. Soon, the pair reached the rest point, where the Kanghaskan Rock was.

_**Meanwhile, At Treasure Town...**_

"Ah! So that's what happened to your Water Float! What a mean thing to do! So, Team FlameTail is on their way now?" The Green Kecleon asked after the Water Mouse Brothers told him what had happened.

"Yep! They said that they would go get it for us!" Azurill said. "Good for you! You can definitely be sure that you'll get it back now!" the Kecleon replied. "Yes, that's true! They once saved Azurill too. We're so grateful for their help!" Azurill said.

"Good day to you all. Is something the matter?" Dusknoir asked as he arrived at the Kecleon Market. "Hello, Dusknoir, sir! We're talking about Marill's lost item" the green Kecleon said. "The Water Float? Wasn't it at the beach?" Dusknoir asked.

"Exactly! But now there's more to the story..."

The green Kecleon explained to Dusknoir what had happened. "I see. That's terrible indeed. It's hard to imagine why someone would do such a thing. It would take some pathetic thugs to stoop so low..." Dusknoir said.

"I couldn't agree more! To be so mean to children, especially to children as young as these brothers! It's utterly unforgivable!" the Kecleon said. "One more thing...Where has Team FlameTail gone?" Dusknoir asked.

"They went to Amp Plains" Marill told Dusknoir. "Pardon? Did you say Amp Plains? But in Amp Plains, at this time of year...It's the season for...No! This is ruinous! Team FlameTail is in grave danger!" Dusknoir said.

"What?!" the Green Kecleon said, now worried. "I must leave for Amp Plains immediately!" Dusknoir said, then he quickly 'ran' off to Amp Plains.

"Wait! What?" Kecleon yelled over to Dusknoir, but he was already gone...

_**At Amp Plains...**_

"By the way, Char, I know it might be a bit late to tell you, but Zapdos lives here in the Plains..." Charlotte said, becoming nervous.

"What? Zapdos?! Are you sure?" Char asked, more curious than scared.

"Yes. I've come here once before. I saw Zapdos as soon as I entered Amp Plains. He said that I was trespassing and that I was trying to capture him for some reason. I tried to tell him I wasn't, but he was too enraged to listen. So, we battled, with me ending up being the loser. He then kicked me out of this dungeon, promising me that if I come back, he won't stop attacking me until I'm...I'm...dead..." Charlotte was becoming upset and very worried.

"Charlotte, don't worry about that. You have me here to protect you. If we end up battling Zapdos, then I'll make sure that you won't get hurt, I promise" Char said, trying to comfort Charlotte.

"T-thank you Char..." Charlotte said, then she hugged Char. This caused Char to become embarrassed, shocked and puzzled. "Uhhh...Ok, well, now that you aren't upset anymore, should we continue the mission?" Char asked, now becoming even more embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry...Ok, let's go. Sorry about that, I can sometimes get emotional..." Charlotte said, then she stopped hugging him, and she slightly smiled when she saw how embarrassed Char was.

"C'mon then, let's go! To get the Water Float!" Charlotte said with a now cheerful attitude, grabbing Char's left hand and pulling him along. 5 Minutes later, Char started walking again, since he had been immobilised by the embarrassment and shock of Charlotte hugging him.

_**30 Minutes Later... **_

The two Charmanders finally arrived at the deepest part of Amp Plains. They looked around. Lightning from the black, cloud filled sky hit the ground in the distance every few minutes. Large rocks were everywhere, some with large cracks where lightning had hit.

All in all, it was a 'dark and menacing place, where lightning could strike at any time', as described by Charlotte. "I know, it is dark, isn't it...Huh? Wait a minute...What's that?" Char pointed at the Water Float, which was sitting at the bottom of a rock wall.

"I think it's the Water Float. C'mon, we'd better get a closer look..." Charlotte said.

But, as soon as they took two steps, the area went completely dark, cutting their vision down to 1 metre in front of them. Then, a voice from somewhere in the darkness said "Why did you come here? This is our territory!"

"Waaahh! It's Zapdos!" Charlotte shouted, then she hid behind Char. Char, using his mind, thought of the Power Beam. The Arm Cannon instantly switched weapons.

Then, Char charged up the Power Beam, then grabbed Charlotte's right arm and pulled her behind a large rock, while whispering "Hide here..."

The voice then said "Ha! Hiding is pointless! My vision pierces the dark to see all! I spot prey that seeks refuge in shadow...Then...I strike!" "Ahhh! Char, get rid of whoever this is!" Charlotte said as she hid behind Char, but now she was shaking from fear.

"Grrr...Show yourself now! Ya coward!" Char yelled, now charging the Volt Driver. "Ha ha ha! I'm Luxray! Leader of the Luxio tribe!" Suddenly, a flash of light, and then the two Charmanders were surrounded by 8 Luxios' and the Luxray.

"W-what? No Zapdos? Whew...Don't worry Char; I'm going to fight this battle! I'm not chickening out of this! I'm not scared of these guys!" Charlotte said, her Tail Flame burning brightly.

"Now, prepare to fight!" Luxray said. Then, the lightning struck a cliff nearby, and the battle started. A Luxio ran at Char. He switched his Arm Cannon weapon to Power Beam and shot it. The beam took half of its health, and it quickly retreated.

Then, all of the Luxios ran at the two, with Luxray watching the battle. Char used the rapid-fire capability of the Power Beam to defeat half of the Luxios, while Charlotte used Flamethrower to defeat the rest of them.

That left Luxray.

Char charged up a Volt Driver shot, while Luxray charged up a Charge Beam. The two attacks were launched and collided in midair.

Fortunately, Char's Volt Driver was stronger than Luxray's Charge Beam by 100 Terawatts.

The Volt Driver attack hit Luxray, causing him to fall to his knees from the almost deadly amount of electricity that he absorbed. "Rrroooaarrr! You...You dare?!" Luxray started, while sparks flew off of him like fireworks.

"Wait! We aren't here to make claim on your territory!" Charlotte shouted at Luxray. "Enough! Take this!" yelled Luxray as he launched a Charge Beam at Charlotte. "Waaahh!" she yelled as she waited for the electricity to hit her.

But, Char had jumped in front of her to take the attack. But, Char hadn't been hit by the attack either.

"Stop!" yelled a familiar voice. Char and Charlotte opened their eyes to find Dusknoir in between them and the Luxio tribe. "Stop this instant! There words are sincere! They trespass, but with no intention on claiming your territory!" Dusknoir continued.

"Dus-Dusknoir?" Charlotte asked with disbelief. "Oh no, not again..." Char said quietly, since as soon as Dusknoir had appeared, his Arm Cannon was starting to go haywire again.

"You! Who are you?" Luxray asked.

"I am the explorer Dusknoir! Your fury is righteous and just, Luxray! Especially in light of what your tribe has suffered on these grounds...Your hostility toward any trespass here is natural! This place is your haven! A place where you find solace! I understand that completely! On behalf of these unwitting trespassers, I offer the sincerest apology! They enter here unbidden, but did so without malice! They mean no harm! We will leave you in peace as soon as our errand is complete! Believe us Luxray!" Dusknoir finished.

"That's the longest speech that I've ever heard..." Char whispered to Charlotte.

"Hmm...You seem to know much about us, Dusknoir. You make the claim...that they mean no harm...So be it! I choose to believe your words, Dusknoir. I will allow you some time. I expect you to be gone by our return."

Then, Luxray turned to his tribe. "Come." he said, then the whole tribe climbed one of the cliffs and walked away.

"Thank you, Dusknoir, sir! You saved us! But...Who were they?" Charlotte asked.

"That was Luxray and the Luxio tribe. They are a nomadic tribe that stay on the move. They roam in search of places that are liveable for them, and Amp Plains is often covered by thunderstorms this time of year. They like the storms, so they live here while the storms are here. But, tragically, they were once attacked here by enemies without warning...They suffered terrible injuries...From that day forward, Luxray and his tribe were extremely suspicious of all who came here. So, if anyone trespassed upon these grounds, well...The Luxio Tribe would strike first, for fear of being stricken! Over the course of many years, that became a law of Luxray's tribe" Dusknoir explained.

"Oh, now I understand..." Charlotte said, while Char tried to figure out how to stop the Arm Cannon from exploding again. "Wait! Before we leave, grab the Water Float!" Char said, while he examined the Arm Cannon.

Charlotte took the Water Float from where Char had found it, and asked Dusknoir "Is this the Water Float?" "There's no mistaking it. Without a doubt, this is the Water Float" Dusknoir replied. "Ok, Char; let's return this to Marill and Azurill!" Charlotte said, taking the Water Float.

"Wait! That item was definitely put there so you would unintentionally provoke a clash between you and Luxray's tribe. Wasn't that your intention, you sneaking scoundrels?!" Dusknoir said, while looking at the path where Char and Charlotte had come from.

"Claw-haw-haw! So you knew all along! No point in hiding, then!" Then, Team Skull walked up to the group. "You? It was you?! Team Skull, the infamous criminal exploration team? Why?" Char asked.

"We were counting on Luxray and his crew to beat you..." Koffing started. "Then, we were going to come in and clean up afterwards!" Zubat finished. "But, we didn't count on this guy meddling!" Zubat said, pointing a wing at Dusknoir.

"Shall we settle this?" Dusknoir asked. "Claw-haw! Sure, if it was just Team FlameTail. You can bet that we'd rough 'em up good! But, up against the world-famous Dusknoir? That's a different story! Let's skedaddle, boys!" Skuntank said, before Team Skull ran off.

"So, those were the bullies..." Charlotte said quietly. "They certainly are quick when it comes to...skedaddling. I think we should deliver the Water Float to the young brothers..." Dusknoir said. Then, he teleported back to Treasure Town.

"C'mon Char; we'd better get going too..." Charlotte said as she took the Treasure Bag.

"Too late..." Char said as the Arm Cannon exploded, causing Char to be enveloped in smoke and knocked unconscious.

"Char!" Charlotte yelled, then she ran over to him. When the smoke cleared, she saw that the armour had now spread to Char's chest and lower body.

Charlotte quickly fed him a Reviver Seed and used the Exploration Team Badge to teleport back to the guild...


	14. Dusknoir Knows

**Chapter 14 Dusknoir Knows...**

After Char woke up, Charlotte took him to Treasure Town so they could give the Water Mouse Brothers, Azurill and Marill, their Water Float back.

"Wow, we got our Water Float back! Thank you! Really!" Azurill said to the two Charmanders. "You saved Azurill way back when, and now this! I don't know how we could ever thank you! But, really...Thank you!" Marill said, now starting to get emotional.

"It's ok, don't worry about it! If you want to thank anyone, thank..."

Char suddenly stopped talking. In his mind, two symbols and two words appeared. One was the 'Imperialist', and the other was the 'Battlehammer'.

Then, a few seconds after the symbols and names had appeared, a description of each new weapon appeared in his mind.

For the Battlehammer, it read 'The BATTLEHAMMER is powered by a miniature nuclear reactor. This HEAVY-DUTY repeater is recommended only for those familiar with high-calibre weaponry.'

Then, the Imperialist description came into his mind. It read 'Equipped with a ZOOM function ideal for PRECISION targeting, the IMPERIALIST fires a thin, lethal laser beam with high accuracy over long distances.'

Then, Char woke up from the weaponry details to find himself looking at Charlotte. "Char! Are you awake?" she yelled at him. "Of course I'm awake! Why are you yelling at me?" Char asked.

"You just stopped mid-sentence! You've been standing like that for 5 minutes, just staring into space!" Charlotte replied. "Oh, well I was reading..."

Char then realised that everyone was looking at him strangely, including Dusknoir. Char quickly looked away from Dusknoir, and whispered to Charlotte "Come to the beach..."

Char then led Charlotte to the beach. When there, he looked around to make sure that no one was around, then he said "I have two more weapons! A Heavy-Duty nuclear one, called the Battlehammer, and a Sniping Laser, called the Imperialist. But, that's not just what I want to talk about. I've realised that every tine I look at Dusknoir, my Arm Cannon goes haywire, then it explodes! After I recover from the explosion, I have at least one new weapon! So, I'm thinking that Dusknoir isn't what he seems. I'm thinking that maybe he's some sort of alien from another galaxy!" Char said.

After hearing this, Charlotte burst out laughing. "Ha-ha-ha! An alien? Jeez Char, you have quite an imagination, don't you?" she said, still laughing.

"Oh, so you think I'm joking? Well, look at this..." Char readied the Imperialist, aimed at a tree at the very top of a mountain, and fired.

The Imperialist laser hit the tree, punching a hole clean through it. "And, what about this?" Char said as he then set up the Battlehammer, and fired rapidly until the tree was a pile of radioactive sticks.

It only took 5 Battlehammer mortar for the tree to look that way. "Does that look like my imagination to you?" Char asked Charlotte.

"Well, no. I know that that's real, but accusing Dusknoir of being an alien? Where's the proof? And, how come he's being so friendly to everyone?" Charlotte asked. "Hmm, well, you've got a point there...I guess you're right..." Char said, deciding not to think about Dusknoir again.

Then Dusknoir came to the beach. "Hello there! I heard about how you were able to pinpoint Azurill's location so quickly at Mt. Bristle. Very impressive!" Dusknoir said.

"Actually, I had a Dimensional Scream, which is the ability to see past or future events when I touch things..." Char said. Charlotte said "Wow, the Dimensional Scream, huh? Sounds amazing!" while Dusknoir asked "Dimensional Scream? How do you know about that?"

"My friend, Yoshi, told me about it. Oh, I just thought of something. I need to explain something to you, Dusknoir..." Char said. Char then told Dusknoir how Pika found him unconscious on the beach, with no memory except for his name and the memory of being a human.

"A human? You? But you're a Charmander! A smart, nomadic, brave, strong, cute Charmander!" Charlotte said.

"Cute? Did you say cute?" Char asked Charlotte. "N-no, of course I didn't, why would I say that...?" Charlotte said quickly, then she started blushing from embarrassment.

"H-human? How could that be? You look like a Charmander in every way!" Dusknoir said. "I know, but I know that something has caused my transformation and amnesia...Although I don't know what..." Char said.

"A human...With the Dimensional Scream Ability...You said you know your name, at least?" Dusknoir asked. "Yep, it's..." Suddenly, the Arm Cannon, instead of exploding, shrouded Char with smoke. After it cleared, the Power Suit had completely covered Char.

He was looking through a visor in the helmet, which read 'Combat Visor'. With the rest of the Power Suit armour now attached to Char, it transferred all of its data to Char. With this new info, Char activated the Scan Visor, looked at Dusknoir, and tried to scan him.

It didn't work.

Charlotte then said "Hey, Char, can you hear me?" Char then noticed a button on his Arm Cannon. He pressed it, and all of the Armour on his body suddenly went into the Arm Cannon, leaving the Cannon the only part of the Power Suit left on his body.

"Sorry about that, my name is Char" he told Dusknoir.

"Ah...I see. You're...Char..." he said. "So, does my name mean anything to you?" Char asked. "...No. It means nothing to me, unfortunately..." Dusknoir said.

'What?! Was that...Did I just see...the faintest...Did Dusknoir just hide the faintest of smiles?' Char and Charlotte both thought at exactly the same time in sync. "I'm sincerely sorry I couldn't help you with that...However, I do know about the ability that you posses, Char." "Well, so do I..." Char said.

"Well, perhaps this is why we became friends! To help unlock the secret of Char's transformation! I offer you my full co-operation!" Dusknoir said. "Oh really? You will?" Charlotte said with a cheerful voice. "Yes. To be perfectly candid, I can't stand knowing that there's something I don't know! Quite honestly, that's the full truth of it! Ha-ha-ha!" Dusknoir started laughing.

"It's thrilling to know that we have your help, Dusknoir, sir! Isn't it great, Char?" Charlotte asked. "Yep, it really is!" Char said. Suddenly, some Pelliper started circling the trio. "Hey, look at all of the Pelliper! There's a lot more than usual..." Charlotte said, while looking at the sky.

"Could something be the matter?" Dusknoir thought aloud. Suddenly, Bidoof ran over, yelling "Char! Charlotte!"

"Hello Bidoof, what's the matter?" Char asked, noticing that he was out of breath. "The call has been put out! All teams are to report to the guild right away!" "Something's wrong!" Char said, now slightly panicky. "I'll go with you!" Dusknoir said.

Then, the four ran to the guild as quickly as possible. While they were running, Char and Charlotte whispered to each other in perfect sync, "Don't trust Dusknoir, he's hiding something..."

Then, they both stared at each other strangely. Soon, they started running to the guild again; neither of them knowing what was going to happen soon...


	15. Sylux At Oran Woods

**Chapter 15 Sylux at Oran Woods**

Soon, the four reached the guild and climbed down the first guild ladder. They saw the Guild Members crowded around the Outlaw Notice Board, except for Pika and Yoshi, since Pika was in bed and Yoshi was at the Oran Woods eating.

"Everyone's here, yup yup!" Bidoof said. The four walked over to the group of Guild Members. "Sorry we're late everyone! We only just found out that the call went out!" Charlotte announced to everyone.

"What's going on?" Char asked no one in particular. "Another Time Gear was stolen!" Chatot said. "What?! Another one? From where?" Charlotte asked.

"W-well it..." Chatot tried to say, but he was clearly upset. "Was it from a place that you don't want to talk about?" Bidoof asked. Char sweatdropped. "It was the one from..." Char started. "...Fogbound Lake!" Sunflora finished.

"W-what?! Fogbound Lake? But Char told me that..." Charlotte started. "...the Fogbound Lake Time Gear couldn't be taken! Us guild recruits were the only ones that knew about it!" Char said quickly, before nervously laughing.

"Maybe, a member of the guild talked?" Charlotte asked. When Char heard this, he almost fainted from shock. But, the rest of the guild reacted with anger. "WHAT?! That was uncalled for!" Loudred yelled. "Hey, hey, hey! Trust your fellow Guild Recruits!" Corphish shouted.

"Oops, sorry...You're right, I shouldn't have said that...No one would break our apparent vow of secrecy...I'm sorry..." Charlotte said, now slightly embarrassed. "Well, no wonder you'd say that! The awful thing happened right after our expedition!" Sunflora said.

Char became nervous when he heard this. "Just a moment! I don't quite understand...A Time Gear at Fogbound Lake? I didn't know this...Did I not hear quite a different tale about your recent expedition? I recall being told that your expedition was a failure..." Dusknoir asked.

"I apologise, great Dusknoir. We made a promise, so we couldn't tell even you, Dusknoir" Guildmaster Wigglytuff said, frowning. "Anyway, apparently a lone intruder entered Fogbound Lake, knocked out Uxie, and ran off with the Time Gear" Chatot explained.

"Is Uxie alright?" Charlotte asked. "Yes, Uxie is fine. He's under the protection of Magnezone's squad. No need to worry" Chatot said. "But, there's more! According to Uxie's victim statement, the intruder's identity has been revealed" Wigglytuff said.

"Then tell us! What kind of Pokémon are we dealing with?" Bidoof asked. "There's already a Wanted Poster for the thief. See for yourselves" Chatot said.

Char and Charlotte looked at the Outlaw Notice Board. In the middle of the board was a picture of Grovyle. As soon as Char saw this, he felt faint. "'This Pokémon goes by the name of Grovyle.'" Charlotte read. "That's one nasty piece of work!" Bidoof said.

"This poster just arrived. It was issued based on Uxie's statement. It arrived as part of an all-points bulletin" Chatot explained. "Oh, so that's why all of the Pelliper were flying around!" Bidoof exclaimed.

"Officer Magnezone has put a very high bounty on Grovyle" said Chatot.

When Char heard this, he got a horrible, sinking feeling, as if the bad things were just beginning... "None of us said anything, but, now I feel ashamed..." Sunflora said.

"Urrrr..." Wigglytuff said. "Hey, Guildmaster?" Chimecho asked. Everyone looked at Wigglytuff. "Urrr...Urrrrrr...Urrrrrrrr...!" "G-G-Guildmaster!" Chatot said, now scared. "Urrrrrrrrrrrr...!!! YOOM...TAH!" Wigglytuff yelled.

"Waaaaahhh!" everyone shouted, except for Chatot, who shouted "Squawk! Squawk!"

"Everyone! We'll catch Grovyle! We'll catch that thief! I vow it on the name of Wigglytuff's Guild! Chatot, if you will!" Wigglytuff yelled.

With these words, Char fainted. "Y-yes! Ok, everyone! From right now, we are putting our full focus on capturing Grovyle! Do your best to bring Grovyle to justice!" Chatot announced.

"Hooray!" everyone shouted, except for Char and Charlotte. "Wigglytuff, I believe I understand the situation now. I will join in your guild's pursuit of Grovyle" Dusknoir said. "Th-thank you, great Dusknoir! We're honoured!" Wigglytuff said. "No, no! It's my honour entirely!" Dusknoir replied.

"We will devise a strategy for finding Grovyle. In the meantime, you should all start your searches! Return here when you're ready to leave! Ok, everyone! Let's outdo ourselves!" Chatot shouted. "Hooray!" shouted almost everyone.

Then everyone left the room, except for the two Charmanders. Charlotte fed Char a Reviver Seed, which caused him to wake up.

"Ugh...I had a strange dream...In it, 7 Bounty Hunters were coming to our world, seeking the Ultimate Power..." Char wearily said. "Well, forget about that, it was just a dream. Listen to this, the whole Guild is going after Grovyle!" Charlotte said.

"I know...That's why I fainted. You see, when I last had an encounter with Grovyle, I had a Dimensional Scream, which had Grovyle and a human running through a forest with a group of Sableye. So, I'm thinking that Grovyle may not be as bad as everyone thinks..." Char said.

"You can't be serious! He's stealing Time Gears! What possible reason could you have for that that doesn't involve the end of the World?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't know, but I'll think of something..." Char said. "Whatever. Anyway, we should go get ready for heaps of exploring, or else technically, we'd be shirking our work..."

"Ok..." Char said, then the two walked to Treasure Town...

_**Meanwhile, at Oran Woods... **_

Yoshi was still eating Oran Berries. He'd been eating them all day, but he still didn't feel full.

But, that was probably because every time he felt full, he laid some Yoshi eggs. He had created a pattern of eating the Oran Berries, and was so distracted with eating that he didn't notice the Delano 7 Spaceship land 500m away from him.

Sylux, one of the 7 most powerful Bounty Hunters in the Galaxy, appeared from outside of the ship and walked over to Yoshi. "Hello, who are you?" Yoshi asked.

He then was hit with the Shock Coil, a dangerous banned Galactic Federation Prototype weapon that had Yoshi receive calamitous injuries.

Sylux then walked off, leaving Yoshi lying on the ground, very close to death...

_**At Treasure Town...**_

Char and Charlotte filled the Treasure Bag with heaps of berries, apples and seeds, then they both walked back to the guild.

"Now, I see that everyone's with us! First and foremost! This should go without saying...Grovyle appears wherever Time Gears are located. But, where are the Time Gears? That is the question! But we have no answer. And, therefore, we have relied on the great Dusknoir for ideas. Together, we've identified several locations where the Time Gears maybe found. We ask that everyone split into groups and investigate each of the potential sites..." Chatot said after everyone had arrived back at the guild.

Suddenly, a Vigoroth from Treasure Town came running into the guild.

"Char! Charlotte! Yoshi's in trouble!" he shouted. "What's wrong?" Char asked.

"I was walking through Oran Woods, when I saw some sort of Spaceship land! I quickly hid in a tree, and I looked down where Yoshi was. Some sort of human-like alien walked over to him and zapped him with some sort of gun!" Vigoroth said.

"W-what did this alien look like?" Chatot asked. "Well, it was blue, with green patterns all over it..." he started.

"W-what? Blue with Green patterns? Oh no! That was one of the hunters from my dream! Charlotte, we've got to get to Oran Forest, now! Nobody follow us, since if you do, you'll be in grave danger!" Char said, and before Charlotte could say anything, Char was carrying her and running to Oran Forest...

_**5 Minutes Later... **_

The two had finally reached the Oran Woods, but Char didn't put Charlotte down and he didn't stop running. He was going to keep running until he found Yoshi.

"Uhh, Char? You can put me down now..." Charlotte said. But, Char didn't respond. He was too busy looking for Yoshi.

Then, he saw him.

Char ran over to Yoshi, put Charlotte down and looked at Yoshi. Charlotte looked at him, and then took a special portable machine out of the Treasure Bag. She scanned him, but it read that nothing had happened to him.

"I'm barely getting any readings, his heart rate's very slow, his brain waves are very abnormal...He's almost dead...I can't do anything for him, since I don't know what's caused this..." Charlotte said quietly, giving up on Yoshi.

"Never, I repeat, Never Give Up on a teammate! I know you wouldn't do that to me, so don't do it to Yoshi!" Char said. Then, he pressed the button on the Arm Cannon, which caused Char to become covered with the Power Suit.

He scanned Yoshi, and the result was 'Hit with a burst of high-density Neutrinos.'"

"Neutrinos? Ok, I'll work on a cure straight away!" Charlotte said after Char had told her the results. But, Charlotte didn't know that someone was coming...And they were coming fast...

Char saw Sylux on the radar first, so he was able to jump in the way of Sylux before Sylux was able to attack Charlotte. Sylux responded with shooting the Shock Coil at Char.

Char watched with horror as his Power Suit Energy dropped steadily, from the max. of 99 to 59, so he quickly climbed up a nearby tree, enabling him to get out of the Shock Coil's Range.

He then quickly scanned Sylux. He got two readings.

The first one said 'Sylux: This Hunter's Power Suit Appears To Be Based On A Federation Prototype And Possesses Extraordinary Offensive and Defensive Capabilities. SYLUX'S Weapon Is The SHOCK COIL, a Banned Technology That Fires A Charged Blast Of High-Density Neutrinos.'

The second was 'LOCKJAW: SYLUX'S Alternative Form, The LOCKJAW, May Consist Of Stolen Prototype Federation Technology. It Allows The User To Transform Into Two Tetracarbon Ceramic-Alloy Blades Joined By An Energy Thread. It's Principal Method Of Attack Is To Weave A Network Of Explosive Trip Wire.'

Then, Sylux turned into the Lockjaw, and laid three bombs around Charlotte, forming a triangle of trip wires.

"Don't touch the wire Charlotte!" Char yelled. Charlotte heard him, so she continued to work on the Neutrino cure, ignoring the trip wires.

Sylux then came out of Lockjaw form and started shooting a combination of the Power Beam weapon and the Shock Coil at Char. With this barrage of attacks, Char's Energy had fallen to 19.

Now that Char saw this, he backed as far away as he could from Sylux, started up the Imperialist, used the zoom feature to aim at Sylux's head, and fired.

The red laser hit its target, and Sylux was instantly teleported back into its ship. Soon after, the Delano 7 flew off.

"Char...The bombs; please get rid of them..." Charlotte said, now panicking because the bombs were moving towards her now. Char instantly reacted by jumping at the bombs, making all three hit him at once.

The result was Char's Energy dropping to zero. A message in a red window on the Power Suit visor read 'EMERGENCY. POWER SUIT ENERGY IS DEPLETED', while an alarm sounded in the Power Suit. The Suit shook violently, as if it were about to explode.

Finally, before he blacked out, Char pressed the button on the Arm Cannon, causing the Power Suit to retract back into the Arm Cannon...

_**1 Hour Later... **_

Charlotte finally reached the Crossroads. She had been carrying Char and dragging Yoshi, since Yoshi was in a coma and Char was hurt really badly.

Finally, she sat at the stairs that lead to the guild, since she didn't want to drag Yoshi up the stairs. "Hey, s-someone help!" she yelled. Chatot, Loudred, Sunflora and Bidoof came running out of the guild and ran to Charlotte.

"What happened?" Chatot asked. "W-well, we were a-attacked by the creature that Vigoroth m-mentioned. Ch-Char saved me, a-and I was able to s-s-save both Char and Yoshi, but t-they're both badly h-hurt..." Charlotte stuttered from being upset, then she started sobbing.

"Well, come on then, let's get them both into the guild!" Chatot said, and the guild recruits carried Yoshi to the guild.

Charlotte carried Char to the guild, hugging him and sobbing while whispering to the fainted Charmander. "You're going to be fine, I know it...I'll have your injuries healed in no time..."


	16. Dusknoir's Secret

**Chapter 16 Dusknoir's Secret**

Char was running for his life. The strange rock-like creature was levitating towards him, and every time it got close, it swung one of its massive and strong limbs that were like tree trunks at him.

Suddenly, Char had run to the edge of the platform. He cautiously stepped onto the solid shield-like surface that prevented anything, or anyone, from falling out of the arena.

It drained his energy so quickly that by the time he took his foot off of it, which was only 2 seconds; he had lost 90 Energy, dropping the Power Suit's Energy Level down to 9.

He turned around and saw the creature looking down at him. No one was around to help.

Char then used every weapon that he had in the Power Suit, including the Shock Coil, against the creature, but it didn't even flinch as every weapon bounced harmlessly off of the creature's skin.

A single tentacle came from the creature's body, and it shot into Char's body, travelling straight through the Power Suit.

The Power Suit's Energy dropped to zero, a familiar alarm sounded, then, just as Char blacked out...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...he opened his eyes. He sat up, since he had actually been lying on his bed and looked around, while thinking "I hate those nightmares..."

He looked around the Crew Room. To his left was Charlotte, who was sleeping. Pika was to his right, and was sleeping, and his tail was connected to a machine that was charging electricity into him.

Yoshi was behind Char, and was in a coma. Char looked out of the window from his bed, and noticed the bright moon in the sky.

'It's night, how long have I been sleeping for?' Char thought. He then decided to get up, go to the beach, wear the Power Suit and check the date.

He quietly stood up, and crept out of the guild. What Char didn't know, was that Charlotte was actually awake, and she had seen him walk out of the guild.

'He's ok! This is brilliant! But, where's he going?' Charlotte thought, then she quietly followed from a shadowing distance...

_**5 Minutes Later...**_

Char reached the beach. He pressed the button on the Power Suit, jumped into the air and landed with the Power Suit completely covering him.

He then looked through the Power Suit's database, and found that he'd been sleeping for 7 days! 'Oh no! Grovyle's probably been captured by now...' Char thought sadly. Then, Char heard a noise come from behind a nearby tree. He quickly charged up the Power Beam, aimed it at the tree and said "Whoever's there, you'd better come out of hiding now!"

"Point that Arm Cannon away from me! I would never hurt you!" Charlotte said as she walked out from behind the tree.

"Charlotte? What are you doing here?" Char asked as he pressed the Arm Cannon button that retracted the Power Suit into the Arm Cannon. "Watching you, since you've been asleep for a week! You had me worried! I thought you were going to die!" Charlotte said, then she hugged Char.

"I thought I wasn't going to see you alive ever again..." she said, now starting to cry. "Hey, don't cry, I'm still here, aren't I..." Char said, and was about to continue talking, except suddenly, Char instantly lost his vision, as if he'd blacked out.

Then, he heard a strange voice in his head that said "The Secret to Ultimate Power lies within Crystal Cave..." Then, as quickly as he had lost his vision, he then got it back.

He looked at Charlotte, who was looking pale. "What's wrong? Did you hear that voice too?" Char asked her.

"Yes, I did hear it...4 days ago, I went to Crystal Cave and found Grovyle attacking Azelf, since Azelf had sealed a Time Gear in some crystals. I defended Azelf, but Grovyle ended up beating both of us...He was about to attack Azelf again, when Dusknoir showed up. He stopped Grovyle from attacking, then the two disappeared. 3 days ago, Dusknoir told everyone that both himself and Grovyle were from the future, and that Grovyle was trying to paralyse the world, a.k.a. Freeze it in time. So, apparently, Dusknoir has come to our time to stop Grovyle's evil plan..." Charlotte explained.

"The future? Even if that was true, how could they get from their time to our time?" Char asked. "They use a special portal, called a Dimensional Hole" Charlotte replied.

"Oh, ok, I have one more question. How'd you save my life?" Char asked.

"Well, after Sylux left, 8 diamond shaped crystals fell from its ship. I scanned them and, after reading that they had some sort of power in them, I touched the crystals with your hand, which then the crystals then absorbed themselves into your body" Charlotte said.

"Oh, so that explains the 8 energy tanks that I now have in my Power Suit, which brings my Energy up to 892..." Char said as he looked at the top of the Combat Visor. "Anyway, it's getting late; we'd better get some sleep..." Charlotte said.

"I agree, let's go back to the guild..." Char said.

So, the two Charmanders then walked back to the guild...

_**The Next Morning...**_

After the Assembly, and after everyone had calmed down their happiness from finding out about Pika and Char's quick healing (Pika had finally recharged the last Terawatt of electricity the night before), an Emergency Siren sounded.

Everyone looked at Diglett, since he had sounded the siren. "It's Deputy Magnemite! He has an announcement!" Diglett said.

"Zzzt! This is a message from Officer Magnezone. Zzzt! We are pleased to deliver this report! Zzzt! Grovyle has been captured! Zzzt! He was captured by the great Dusknoir. Zzzt! He has informed us that he will return to the future with Grovyle. Zzzt!" Magnemite said.

"D-Dusknoir is going home?" Sunflora asked sadly. "Going back to the future? How can they...go back?" Loudred asked.

"Zzzt! I don't claim to understand the process. Zzzt! But I heard they will be going through a tunnel. Zzzt! He called it a Dimensional Hole. Zzzt! He opened a Dimensional Hole in the Town Square, I am told. Zzzt! Dusknoir told us that he wishes to say goodbye before he leaves. Zzzt! Therefore, he hopes that you will come and see him for the last time at Treasure Town's square. Zzzt!" Magnemite explained.

"Hey, hey! What are we doing here?" Corphish asked. "Let's hurry; we have to go to Treasure Town!" Pika said. Before leaving, however, Charlotte noticed Char's face.

He was angry.

"Calm down Char, you don't have any evidence of Grovyle actually being good" Charlotte said. "That's wrong. Grovyle saved Pika when we were ambushed by Team Skull..." Char said. "Sigh...Just please, Char, don't try anything..." Charlotte asked. Char didn't reply.

So, the whole guild left for Treasure Town...

_**2 Minutes Later...**_

The guild members arrived at Treasure Town's Square. Teddiursa, Ursaring, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Magnezone and Kecleon were all there. "Everyone's already here!" Chimecho said, oblivious to the fact that not everyone was there.

"Hey, hey! I don't see the Great Dusknoir around yet" Corphish said. "What's THAT?!" Loudred yelled, while looking at the Dimensional Hole.

The guild members all stood at the square, in front of the Dimensional Hole. "ZZZT! That is a Dimensional Hole! ZZZT!" Officer Magnezone said. "Golly, isn't it something? So, stepping into it will take you to the future?" Bidoof asked.

Bidoof walked up to the Dimensional Hole to get a closer look. Officer Magnezone quickly flew in front of Bidoof and pushed him back. "ZZZT! Look Out! ZZZT! Stay clear! ZZZT! The instant you touch it, you'll be sent to the future! ZZZT! Please be extremely careful! ZZZT!" Magnezone told Bidoof.

Bidoof replied with an "Oof!" noise. "Hey! Uxie! Mesprit! Azelf! You're all safe!" Pika said. "Naturally!" Mesprit replied.

"So, was the plan successful?" Pika asked. "Yep. I have to hand it to the Great Dusknoir. It was flawless. Grovyle's been captured. And we regained all the Time Gears he'd stolen." Azelf said.

"Yes! That's excellent!" Pika replied happily. "Dusknoir should be here shortly..." Uxie said.

Then, as if on cue, Ursaring noticed something. "Oh, who's that?" he asked. Everyone turned to look towards the crossroad, and they all saw Dusknoir.

Dusknoir 'walked' up to the Dimensional Hole, with two Sableye pushing Grovyle along. Grovyle was tied up and muzzled. When Char saw this, it took all of his willpower for him not to open fire at Dusknoir, since he was so furious.

'But usually, with these strong emotions, my Temporal Fire power starts up. Why isn't it?' Char thought.

"Everyone! Today, I would like to share excellent news with you. Finally...Grovyle...Grovyle has been captured!" Everyone cheered, except for Char, who was noticing a new Sub-Weapon icon appearing next to the Volt Driver Icon in his mind, since he wasn't wearing the Power Suit.

"This was all made possible by your selfless support and Cooperation! I can't thank you enough!" Almost everyone cheered again.

"As you can see, Grovyle is a vicious and wicked Pokémon..." Dusknoir began. Char almost roared with anger when he heard this, but he kept quiet. The symbol in his head became more opaque. "...His capture should result in lasting peace for your world" Dusknoir finished.

Then, Grovyle tried to speak, but all he could manage was "Mmmmff! Mmmmff!" "They have Grovyle muzzled..." Pika whispered to Char and Charlotte, actually showing some remorse for Grovyle.

"Now why would they do that? Unless, Grovyle was trying to say something that would prove that he was innocent!" Char whispered. Charlotte just shook her head in disbelief that Char would still think that Grovyle was innocent.

"But, I must also deliver a sad piece of news. It's time for me to return to the future. Everyone! I must now bid you farewell" Dusknoir said. "Oh, so that was true, hey, hey..." Corphish said, now sad.

'Good riddance...' Char thought. "I'm feeling blue. There was so much I wanted to learn from you, yup yup..." Bidoof said.

"Uxie...Mesprit...Azelf...I entrust you with the rest" Dusknoir told the three. "Yep" Azelf said. "We know" Mesprit replied. "We've got the Time Gears. And we'll make sure that they're returned to their rightful places" Uxie said. "The task is yours" Dusknoir said to them.

"ZZZT! Thank you very much! ZZZT! For everything! ZZZT! You have literally saved us all! ZZZT!" Magnezone said. "Oh, no, no...You have been most kind and helpful. I hope you will continue to work to preserve the peace" Dusknoir replied.

"ZZZT! Yes! You can depend on that! ZZZT!" Magnezone said.

"Now...I'm afraid the time has come..." Dusknoir started. While he said this, the Sableye pushed Grovyle into the Dimensional Hole, then they both jumped into the black hole-like portal.

"...Everyone! Though it pains me..." Dusknoir said. "Ooogie...I hate sad good-byes!" Sunflora said. "I h-h-hope we see you again..." Diglett said, starting to cry. "Waaaah! Dusknoir...sir...waaaaah!" Chatot cried.

Then, Dusknoir 'walked' towards the Dimensional Hole. But, just before he stepped in, he remembered something.

"Oh, yes. Before I go, I must see two Pokémon...Pika! And Char!"

"That's us, let's go up there" Pika said...

_**At the Guild...**_

Yoshi suddenly woke up, fully healed. He had a strange feeling, that if he didn't hurry, then Pika, Char and Charlotte would be in grave danger...

"Wait! Pika! Char! Charlotte! Don't go near Dusknoir!" he yelled as he ran to Treasure Town...

_**At Treasure Town...**_

"So, this is really goodbye! Dusknoir sir, for everything that you've done...Sincerely, thank you!" Pika said, now starting to cry. "Well...this is...goodbye...Or is it?" Dusknoir said.

"What?!" Pika asked.

Then, Dusknoir's stomach opened, just like a giant mouth. Char instantly charged up a Volt Driver Aerobomb. "It's too soon for farewells!" Dusknoir said.

_**At the Crossroads...**_

'Nearly there...I hope I'm not too late... Yoshi thought as he ran as fast as he could to Treasure Town's square...

_**At Treasure Town Square...**_

Dusknoir grabbed Pika and Char by their tails, which caused Char to misfire. The Volt Driver Aerobomb flew harmlessly into the sky.

"Waaah!" Pika shouted. "You two...are coming with me!" Dusknoir said, then he dragged the two into the Dimensional Hole with him. "Char! Pika!" Charlotte yelled, then she dived into the Dimensional Hole.

Everyone walked towards the Dimensional Hole, but then, it shrunk amazingly fast. It had shrunk so fast, that by the time Yoshi had come and dived through the Dimensional Hole, Yoshi was only just able to get through.

"What...was that?" the Green Kecleon asked.

"What just happened?" Sunflora asked...

_**In the Dimensional Hole...**_

Dusknoir flew ahead of them, leaving Team FlameTail behind. Just before blacking out, the icon appeared clearly in Char's head.

Underneath it, were the words, 'Omega Cannon'.

Then, a description came.

It said 'This proscribed weapon of mass destruction was called an abomination by the ALIMBIC ELDERS because of the harm it could inflict on anyone desperate enough to use it.'

So, Char fired the Omega Cannon. Unfortunately, Char wasn't aiming properly, so it flew up to where he had come from.

It hit the side of the Dimensional Hole near Yoshi, causing Yoshi to be sucked into the hole in the dimensions that the Omega Cannon had made.

The sudden depressurisation of the Dimensional Hole caused all of Team FlameTail to become unconscious instantly.

_**30 Minutes Later, in another part of the Galaxy...**_

Yoshi woke up in a beach. He wearily opened his eyes, and found himself on some sort of tropical island. He noticed a path that lead into a forest, and above the path was a sign that read 'Welcome to Yoshi Island!'

'I think I'm going to like it here...' Yoshi thought as he got up and started walking down the path...

_**Yoshi's adventures with Team FlameTail end here.**_


	17. Escape From Dusknoir Jail

**Chapter 17 Escape from Dusknoir Jail**

'Ugh...Where is this? I was...dragged? No! Can't lose consciousness again...' Char thought, then he fell unconscious again...

_**Meanwhile, on the top of a fallen tower...**_

"I am sorry to have kept you waiting, Master Dialga...While I encountered more difficulty than anticipated...I finally succeeded...In the capture, yes" Dusknoir said into the darkness.

Suddenly, from the darkness shone a pair of blood-red eyes and orange patterns.

"GRRRRRRRR..." Master Dialga said.

"...I fully understand what must be done. Those who seek to alter the course of history...must be removed from history. I will see to the elimination immediately" Dusknoir replied.

"GRRRRRRRRR..." Master Dialga said.

"...I understand. As you wish. I take my leave..." Dusknoir said. Then, the eyes and patterns disappeared into the darkness...

_**Meanwhile, in an unknown location... **_

"Hey...Char...Wake up, Char!" Charlotte said. 'Ugh...Wh-where is this?' Char thought as he woke up and stood up.

"You're awake!" Pika said happily. Char looked around. "This place...I think it's a jail..." Charlotte said.

"J-jail?! What's going on?" Char asked.

"We just woke up too, so we don't know what's going on...I tried to open the doors, but they're locked. There seems to be no other way out...I think we've been locked up...Ugh..." Pika said, pointing to the barred door.

"Here, let me try to open the door, I've got a lockpick of sorts..." Char grinned as he aimed the Arm Cannon at the door.

He tried every weapon, even two new ones, called the Judicator (Fires Supercooled Plasma that can bounce off of walls) and the Magmaul (Fires Magma that explodes 3 seconds after fired, unless it hits a door, or enemy), but none of them worked.

He would have even tried the Omega Cannon, but that had disappeared from his list of weapons.

"It's no use...These doors are made out of some material that none of my weapons can penetrate..." Char said, now disappointed.

"How did we end up this way? I think what happened was...Dusknoir grabbed us...Then, he dragged us into the Dimensional Hole...Wait! So, is this maybe...Is this...the future?!" Pika said, now becoming shocked.

Both Char and Charlotte thought 'Finally, he realised...'

"But that's...! I can't believe this! I mean, is this the future?" Pika asked. Charlotte was about to answer, but Pika said "Why are we even here?"

Then, Char was about to answer, but Pika then said "Ugh...but...This room is constructed in a way unlike anything that I've ever seen! Now that I've had time to digest this...Maybe this actually is...The Future!.........Waaah! Did we really end up in the future?!" Pika said.

Char and Charlotte sweatdropped. "So, now what should we do?" Charlotte asked. "So, if...If this place is the future...How are we supposed to get back to our world?" Pika asked.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard outside of the Jail. Char quickly pressed the button on his Arm Cannon, which covered him in the Power Suit.

He readied the Imperialist, then stood very still and aimed. The jail doors swung open and 4 Sableye walked in. "They're awake. How convenient. All right. We'll do this quick" One of them said. "Do what quick?" Charlotte asked.

Then, the Sableye blindfolded Pika and Charlotte. They've blindfolded me! I can't see!" Pika shouted. Char was paralysed with fear, but the Sableye acted as if he was invisible. "Come with us" the Sableye said.

"Ow! Don't push me!" Pika said as they pushed the two out of the room. Charlotte couldn't say anything, since she'd been muzzled. Soon, they were gone.

'W-what just happened? It was as if I was invisible...' Char thought. Then, he looked at his Power Suit encased body. He was invisible. 'Waaah! How did this happen?' Char thought.

He took a step forward and stopped. He became visible, until he stopped, which was when he became invisible again. 'Cool! Stealth Weaponry!' Char thought, then he switched weapons.

The instant he switched weapons, he became visible again.

'Oh, I guess it only works with the Imperialist when I'm stationary...' Char thought as he readied the Imperialist, then he ran out of the room, looking for Pika and Charlotte...

_**Not too far away...**_

"Ugh...Where are they taking us?" Pika asked, but he got no answer. "We're here..." one of the Sableye said.

The next thing that Pika realised was that he was tied very tightly to a large column with a spotlight shining on him, and that he had no blindfold. "W-where is this?! I can't move...Why is this happening?" Pika shouted out into the darkness.

Then, a spotlight shined on a Pokémon tied up on a column right next to Pika. It was Charlotte, and even though she didn't have a blindfold on anymore, she was still muzzled and tied up.

"Am I glad to see you! Are you ok?" Pika asked. Charlotte nodded, and tried to say something, but her speech sounded like "Mmmff! Mmmmmff!"

"You're clueless about what's going to happen...I guess you can afford to be nonchalant about it..." said a voice next to Charlotte. "Huh? Who said that?" Pika asked.

Then, a third spotlight shone, revealing the identity of the third tied up Pokémon. "Grovyle?!" Pika said. "You two, do you have any idea about where you are?" Grovyle asked. "N-no..." Pika said. "Mmmff..." Charlotte tried to say something.

"This is a stockade...They're preparing to get rid of us for good" Grovyle said. "What?! G-get rid of us?! Wait a second; it's easy to see why they'd want to get rid of you, Grovyle. But why us?! We haven't done anything wrong!" Pika said.

"You must have done something they can't tolerate..." Grovyle replied. "We haven't done anything bad! Don't think that we're like you!" Pika replied angrily...

_**Meanwhile...**_

Char checked his Radar.

It showed 3 non-foes next to each other in a room.

He then checked the Thermal Positioner.

It showed him near the jail cells, and his friends at the... "Stockades! Dusknoir's going to..."

Char didn't even think about it as he ran towards the stockades. He ran in the back entrance of the stockades, and stood next to one of the columns. He then turned invisible by standing still and looked at the columns.

Pika and Grovyle were tied to the columns and Charlotte was muzzled as well as tied up. He was about to shoot the ropes, but then, he heard someone coming so he stood still...

Suddenly, the room lit up and 6 Sableye walked into the room. "Who are they?" Pika asked. "They're the jailers who do the dirty work around here. They're also Dusknoir's underlings..." Grovyle said.

"What? The great Dusknoir's? Pika asked. "Aha! I knew it!" Char whispered, but immediately wished that he hadn't. Luckily, no one heard him.

Then, Dusknoir came in. "Hey! It's Dusknoir!" Pika said. "Lord Dusknoir. The three have been tied to the stakes" one of the Sableye said. "Good" was Dusknoir's reply. "Dusknoir, sir! It's me, Pika!" Pika shouted, his voice full of fear.

"Very well, Sableye. Those three...We need to be rid of them" Dusknoir said. "What?!" Pika asked, his fear increasing by the second. "Pay them no heed. You may get ready" Dusknoir said, no emotion was heard in his voice.

"Wheh-heh-heh!" the Sableye group said in sync, then they surrounded the three. "Wait! Dusknoir, sir! What's wrong with you?!" Pika asked, as Char aimed the Imperialist scope at Dusknoir's head.

"Don't waste your breath...Instead...shhhh...Keep your voices down so they can't hear you..." Grovyle said. "Urk...! Keep...my voice down?" Pika asked. "Yes, keep it down!" Char said.

"Who said that?" Grovyle asked. "Heh, heh! It's me, the leader of Team FlameTail!" Char said. "Huh? Were you talking to me?" Grovyle asked Charlotte.

"Mmmff! Mmmmmff! Mmmmmff!" Charlotte tried to speak, but she couldn't, because of the muzzle that was there to prevent her from using Fire attacks. She then tried to break free of the ropes, but in didn't matter how much she struggled against the ropes, they wouldn't budge.

"Charlotte, don't struggle against the ropes, you're only wasting your strength..." Char said as he looked at the ropes. He couldn't believe how tight they were and how strong the ropes were that the jailers had used. 'Those ropes could easily hold a raging Tyrannitar!' Char thought.

Then, he answered Grovyle. "No, not her! Me! I'm using a cloaking device now, so you can't see me..." Char said. "Stop wasting our time! We need a plan now, or else we'll die!" Grovyle snapped as the Sableye finished sharpening their claws.

"Sorry. I suggest you use a simple attack!" Char said. "That'll do..." Grovyle said, now thinking. "I'll help!" Pika said. Charlotte just watched the Sableye. "We're ready to begin!" the Sableye group said, showing off their unbelievably sharp claws.

"Ok then. But be vigilant to the end. Don't take your eyes off of them, especially that Grovyle..." Dusknoir said. "Wheh-heh-heh!" laughed the Sableye. Dusknoir stood back. "Commence...now!" he said. The Sableye started closing in slowly.

"They're coming!" Pika said. "Listen carefully, Sableye use claws to strike...And that might just open one avenue for escape...The Sableye will unleash their Fury Swipes in a frenzy...That's our chance. If even one of their attacks were to hit the ropes binding us..." Grovyle explained.

"Then, the ropes might come loose!" Char said, waiting for the right moment to shoot at Dusknoir.

"...Exactly...and if that happens, lash out with an attack, then Dig!" Grovyle said. "B-but what if an attack doesn't hit the ropes? And...what if...the Sableye don't use Fury Swipes...?" Pika asked.

The Sableye group took an attack pose.

"If that happens, then we're done for..." Grovyle said. Then, the Sableye slashed the three tied up Pokémon with Fury Swipes.

"Mmmmmmmfff!" Charlotte tried to scream. "WAAAAAH!" Pika yelled in pain. Char wanted to help, but if he fired a weapon, the cloak would wear off momentarily, and he would be seen.

"En...en...endure it! Wait for your chance!" Grovyle yelled. "But, if they keep this up, we'll be finished before our chance comes!" Pika yelled. Then, right on cue, a break in each of the ropes formed.

"Now! Attack!" Grovyle yelled. The three jumped free of the ropes used a regular attack against the Sableye. Every Sableye fell back to the ground in surprise. "Wh-what is this?!" Dusknoir said.

"There!" Grovyle said, then he smashed a Luminous Orb on the ground, causing everyone to be blinded by light for a few seconds.

"Gaaah! We can't see!" one of the Sableye's yelled. "Compose yourselves! It's only a Luminous Orb! Its effects wear off quickly!" Dusknoir yelled. Char used the light as cover and fired the Imperialist at Dusknoir's head.

To his horror, the Sniper Laser went straight through Dusknoir. 'Darn! This weapon doesn't work on ghosts!' Char thought. Then, when the light dimmed, the three were gone.

"B-blast it! That Grovyle! He fled using the Luminous Orb Flash as a cover! They won't get away with this! Come!" Dusknoir said to the Sableye. The ghost Pokémon then walked off.

Soon after, Char switched his weapon to Power Beam and pressed the button that retracted his Power Suit into the Arm Cannon. 2 seconds later, Grovyle, Charlotte and Pika dug up from out of the ground.

"I hate Dusknoir now..." Charlotte said after she took the rope muzzle off of her mouth.

"Bleech...I got dirt in my mouth..." Pika said.

"So, we're out of that scrape...But we're not safe yet...Let's get out of here, and fast" Grovyle said.

"Agreed!" Char and Charlotte said in sync.

Then, the four ran out of the prison, making sure that they didn't run into Dusknoir or any of the Sableye on their way out...


	18. The Future

_**Chapter 18 The Future**_

After a lot of running, the four Pokémon finally ran outside of the prison. When Team FlameTail saw the future around them, they almost couldn't believe it.

The environment was gray, not a single speck of any other colour could be seen, not even in the sky, since it was covered in large, grey clouds. Boulders were floating in the air, and dead, skeletal-like trees littered the environment.

"Wow...This is bleak..." Charlotte said as she looked around. "This is really a strange place...And it's dark...The winds don't even blow...It's as if everything has stopped!" Pika said quietly. "Exactly!" Grovyle said.

"What?" Pika asked, curious to find out what Grovyle knew. But, suddenly, a sound of "Wheh-heh-heh!" came from the prison exit.

"Oh no! The Sableye!" Pika said. "We have to keep running!" Grovyle told the three.

"You three go on without me. I'm going to stall the Sableyes and Dusknoir. I'll meet you three later where Foggy Forest is..." Char said, standing in front of the prison exit.

"Char, are you crazy? None of us can defeat the Sableye, let alone Dusknoir! What you're doing now is suicidal!" Pika said, shocked with Char's decision. "Look, it's either you go now, or get killed by Dusknoir, now move it!" Char yelled at Pika.

"...I can't leave you to die, I'm staying with you!" Pika said, determined not to let Char stay. "Fine, have it your way..." Grovyle said, then he grabbed Pika by the tail and carried him away.

"No!" Pika yelled, then he used Thunderbolt against Grovyle. Grovyle just shook off the attack and kept running. Soon they were gone, and Char was left alone in front of the prison.

Soon, the Sableye and Dusknoir came and surrounded him. "Ha ha ha! You're brave Char, I'll give you that, but you really think that you can defeat us?" Dusknoir asked Char.

"Yep, I think that I can!" Char said with an optimistic attitude. "Ha ha ha ha! That's laughable! Alright, you asked for it. Just don't expect mercy when we defeat you..." Dusknoir said in a low, cold voice.

The ghost group then moved closer to Char, surrounding him even more. Char just pushed a button, which caused the Power Suit to cover Char.

"Simple armour won't help you Char, you'll need a lot more than that if you want to survive..." Dusknoir said lowly.

"Ha! It's not just armour, see?" Char said as he blasted one of the ten Sableyes with Battlehammer mortar.

The blasts were 3 times stronger than the last time Char had used the Battlehammer, and the Sableye fainted after just three shots.

"Now!" Dusknoir yelled, then the 9 Sableyes all jumped at Char at the same time...

_**Meanwhile...**_

Pika and Grovyle were still running. "Listen Grovyle, I'm exhausted..." Pika complained. "We have to keep running! If they catch us, we're done! Tough it out and run!" Grovyle told Pika.

"...That's easy for you to say...I'm exhausted...I can't...I have to rest..." Pika said between breaths. "Alright..." Grovyle said, annoyed with Pika's lack of stamina.

The two stopped at the entrance of a cave.

"This should shield us from view...After you're finished resting, we can continue running..." Grovyle said, then he hid in the cave's entrance.

"Wait a minute! We cooperated with you at the prison because we didn't have a choice! But we didn't promise we'd go with you afterwards! A bad Pokémon like you...You're not worth trusting" Pika said.

"So I'm the bad guy...And that Dusknoir is the good guy? Is that what you're saying? Then how 'bout explaining Dusknoir's actions at the prison? It wasn't just me...They wanted you gone too!" Grovyle said to Pika.

"...That doesn't mean I should trust you, Grovyle..." Pika said quietly.

"...Earning your trust isn't an easy task, it seems. I thought that having an ally would help, but...There's no point in continuing together without trust. We'll go our separate ways. I'm staying on the move. You should get moving as soon as possible. Good luck" Grovyle said, then he started walking into the cave.

"W-wait! You tell us to move soon, but it's dark now. It's hard to see where we're going. Instead of setting off right away, shouldn't we wait for morning?" Pika asked.

"That's not possible. I hate to say it, but...morning never comes." Grovyle said quietly. "What?!" Pika asked, obviously confused.

"This world...It's a world of perpetual darkness. The sun never rises. So morning never comes. The darkness persists forever" Grovyle said. "Wh-why?" Pika asked.

"Because...the planet has been paralysed" Grovyle replied. "Paralysed? How can that be?" Pika asked.

"You can believe, or reject, what I'm telling you. Either way, I suggest you leave here as soon as you can. I'm going. Don't let those Sableye catch you" Grovyle said, as he started leaving.

"What about Char?" Pika asked.

"Unfortunately, because of the sacrifice that he and his friend have made, don't expect to see those two ever again..." Grovyle said, before disappearing into the cave.

"What? Charlotte? She's here..." Pika said. But after looking around, he noticed that Charlotte had indeed stayed with Char.

"Oh great, now I have no friends left alive, I'm stuck in the future and I don't know if I can trust Grovyle..." Pika said to himself quietly and sadly, before walking into Chasm Cave...

_**At the Prison's Entrance...**_

Char waited for the Energy Meter to drop to zero. But, to his amazement, it didn't even drop one point.

He also realised that the temperature around him had risen about 300 degrees Celsius. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw Charlotte using Fire Spin to create a wall of fire around them.

The fire wall was working too, since whenever the Sableye touched the flames, they quickly jumped back in pain.

"You didn't think I was going to leave you here, did you?" Charlotte asked. "Actually, no, since you haven't left me since the day I met you!" Char replied, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"What are you doing?! Get them!" Dusknoir yelled at the Sableye. "Sorry, but we can't. The firewall's in the way!"

"Well, then I'll put a virus in the system!" Dusknoir yelled as he powered up a huge Shadow Ball from his stomach and aimed it at Charlotte.

"Jeez, I've never heard so many computer references in my life! And I don't even know what a computer is!" Char whispered to Charlotte while charging a Volt Driver Aerobomb.

"TAKE THIS!" yelled Dusknoir as he fired the Shadow Ball. "Eat Volt Driver!" yelled Char as he launched the Aerobomb. The two attacks collided midair, resulting in an explosion.

The blast hurt Dusknoir, almost fainted the Sableye and threw Char and Charlotte into the air. Since Charlotte was unconscious, Char hugged her, so when they hit the ground, he would take the impact of the landing.

They fell into the Sealed Ruins, Char enduring the full impact of the crash landing. He hit the ground, causing 120 damage to his Power Suit, which lowered it to 772 Energy.

Charlotte flew out of his grip and was thrown into a cavern in the ruins. Char then fell unconscious...

_**Meanwhile...**_

Pika had just exited Chasm Cave when he saw Char and Charlotte flying though the air and land in the not-too-distant Sealed Ruins. But, to Pika, the two Charmanders looked like a meteor that just landed in the Ruins.

'Jeez, what was that?!' Pika thought as he ran as fast as he could towards the Ruins, but having to travel over the ghost infested Dark Hill first.

_**At the Sealed Ruins...**_

After seeing the Charmanders fall into the Sealed Ruins, Grovyle quickly ran into the Dungeon. He ran past the fainted Char, not realising he was there and ran straight into the cavern.

He saw Charlotte lying on the ground, unconscious with a purple aura surrounding her and yellow paralysing streaks running through her body.

He ran, but he only got halfway to her when someone shouted "You there! STOP!" Grovyle instinctively stopped and looked around.

"Who's there?!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the cavern. "You both INVADE this place with no warning! Then you DISTURB our slumber! Then, without APOLOGY, you try to leave?" the voice asked angrily.

"Who's there?! Who are you?!" Grovyle yelled again into the darkness. "You DARE to anger us?! We expect you to PAY for these insults!" the voice said, angrier then before.

"Where are you?! Quit hiding and reveal yourself!" Grovyle demanded. "You ACCUSE us of hiding? We do NOT hide. We are...We are HERE!"

Suddenly, the whole cavern went black, leaving Grovyle unable to see anything. "We are SPIRITOMB! There is NO MERCY for those who transgress against us!"

Suddenly, Grovyle was attacked.

"Gaaaah!" was all Grovyle could say before he fell unconscious...

_**5 Minutes Later...**_

As soon as Pika found Char, Char was waking up. "Hey Char! Are you alright?" Pika asked. "Yeah, I'm fine..." Char mumbled, before remembering what had happened.

"Quick! Charlotte fell into that cavern over there. Let's go!" Char said, now standing and dragging Pika over to the cavern, since Pika was trying to process what Char had said, since he'd said it so fast.

The two walked into the cavern, to find Charlotte unconscious, Grovyle severely weakened and both of them covered with a purple aura and yellow paralysing streaks running through their bodies.

Grovyle noticed Pika and Char.

Char retracted his Power Suit.

"Urrrgh...You two..." Grovyle said weakly. "G-Grovyle! Are you ok?" Pika asked.

'Obviously, he isn't...' Char thought, then the two took a step forward, stepping in front of an Odd Keystone. "S-stay back!" Grovyle moaned weakly. "What? Wh-why?" Pika asked.

"Careful! An enemy lurks nearby!" Grovyle said quietly. Char was guessing it was the Keystone, so he got the Power Suit on and aimed his Arm Cannon at the stone.

"W-where?" Pika asked, now panicking. "It's right...beside you!" Grovyle said in a strained voice. Pika looked beside himself and saw the Odd Keystone. "It can't be this..." he said.

Suddenly, the Keystone jumped. "Waaah!" Pika yelled, and he quickly took a few steps back. "HEE-hee...HEE-hee...All those who TRESPASS upon this land...None shall be FORGIVEN! None! Not least of all...YOU!" Spiritomb said.

"Who is that? Who are you?" Pika asked the Keystone. "You ask that of US? Our name is...SPIRITOMB. We are the manifestation of a FUSION of spirits..." Then, Spiritomb revealed itself. "...One hundred and EIGHT of them!" Spiritomb finished.

"Be careful, you two! That Pokémon is strong!" Grovyle warned. "HEE-hee...HEE-hee...PREPARE to take your punishment!" Spiritomb yelled, then the battle began.

Char fired the Imperialist at Spiritomb. It went straight through it. He tried almost every other weapon he had, but they all went through Spiritomb.

"HEE-hee...You can't defeat ME!" Spiritomb yelled, then it fired a Shadow Ball at Char. His Energy fell to 702, which meant that Shadow Ball caused 70 damage. Char became angry and charged the only weapon he had left, the Judicator.

He shot Spiritomb with a wave of Supercooled Plasma, and Spiritomb froze on the spot. Char then quickly fired chunks of Supercooled Plasma at Spiritomb to lower it's health. The Combat Visor showed that Spiritomb's energy had dropped one quarter before it broke out of the Plasma.

"Oh, that was unfortunate...BUT, you aren't doing that AGAIN!" Spiritomb yelled. Char just shrugged and froze it again.

He shot it down to half it's health before it freed itself again. "HEY! You can't SHOOT me while I'm talking! Get ready to..." Spiritomb couldn't finish it's sentence, since Char had frozen it again.

It had only one quarter of its health when it broke free of the Plasma. This time, instead of talking, Spiritomb fired 3 Shadow Ball attacks, taking Char's energy down to 492.

Char was very annoyed with Spiritomb, so he armed and charged the Magmaul, aimed at Spiritomb's keystone and fired. The magma set the keystone on fire.

"HEE-hee...That doesn't hurt...! Ugh...we don't feel so GOOD..." Spiritomb said as its energy level was drained to zero by the fire. The battle ended, with Char the winner.

"UGGGH...OOOOH...ARRGH! OHHH...ARRGH...GWAAAAAAH!" Spiritomb moaned. Suddenly, the ruins started shaking, as if an earthquake measuring 8.5 on the Richter Scale was hitting the ruins. Pika shouted "Waah! Wh-what's happening?"

"UGWAAAAAAAAAAAH! GAAAAAAAAAH!" Spiritomb yelled, then it suddenly went into its keystone. The instant that it did this, the shaking stopped. "Eeep!" it said. Then, the purple and yellow aura went from Grovyle and Charlotte to the keystone.

The keystone looked around, then said "Eeep! R-r-run away!" The keystone quickly hopped away into the ruins, leaving 5 golden balls of energy.

Char quickly touched them, and they absorbed themselves into his Power Suit, bringing him back to full Energy. "What was that all about?" Char asked, referring to the Spiritomb attack.

"They got spooked and ran..." Grovyle said weakly. "Grovyle! Are you alright?" Pika asked as he ran over to him and gave him an Oran Berry from his Treasure Bag. Char ran over to Charlotte and fed her a Reviver Seed. "Yeah, I'll be fine...thanks..." Grovyle said while still lying on the ground.

"Ohhhhh...My head hurts..." Charlotte moaned as she regained consciousness and stood up. "What'd I miss?" she asked.

"Well, I just battled a Spiritomb, but, other then that, you didn't miss anything..." Char replied to her.

"Can you get up" Pika asked Grovyle. "Somehow...Urk!" Grovyle then somehow stood up. "That Pokémon...It was cunning...It went up my nose and took control of my body..." Grovyle said quietly. "So that was a bad Pokémon" Pika said.

"No. That's not true. That Spiritomb was probably upset over us trespassing in its space. It was frightening...because it became so angry that it lost control of itself. But you saw what happened when the situation turned sour. It fled. It's normally a timid Pokémon. There are many such Pokémon here in your future. They are Pokémon who should be good...But they have become bitter and twisted because of this world's perpetual darkness..." Grovyle explained.

"I see...Good Pokémon going bad because of this world...That makes me sad..." Pika said sadly. "Hey, you three! Now will you finally trust me?" Grovyle asked.

"Ummm...somewhat? I'll admit it; I don't really trust you, but..." Pika said. Char and Charlotte sweatdropped.

"Humph! I've told you before. There's no point in continuing together if there's no trust between us. I'm leaving..." Grovyle said.

He started walking off, but stopped when Pika suddenly said "Oh, wait! I didn't say I don't believe you! To be perfectly honest...We don't know what's what anymore!"

"Actually, Char and I do know some of what's going on..." Charlotte said. Pika ignored her.

"That's why we want to know as much as we can learn. And...It's true I still don't completely trust you Grovyle, but...But what you said does make some sense...It just seems to be logical. So, please? Grovyle, please tell us what you know! Tell us about this future...and why you came to our world, Grovyle!" Pika said.

"So, what if everything I say is a pack of lies?" Grovyle asked.

"It's ok. I won't accept everything you say right away. I'll listen, then decide" Pika said. Grovyle thought about this.

"Well...fine. Follow me."

Grovyle led the three out of the ruins...


	19. A Newcomer!

**Chapter 19 A Newcomer!**

The four walked out of the ruins and behind some nearby boulders.

"Good. This'll do. Those Sableye won't be able to find us easily here" Grovyle said.

"Tell us Grovyle. Here, in the future...Why did the planet's paralysis take place?" Pika asked.

Char and Charlotte listened carefully.

"The cause of the planet's paralysis...That dates back to your time. In the past. The planet's paralysis started with the collapse of Temporal Tower, which was governed by Dialga. Dialga is the legendary Pokémon that controls time. He ensured the proper flow of time from Temporal Tower. But when Temporal Tower collapsed...Time got out of control...And eventually, the planet fell into paralysis" Grovyle explained.

"What happened to Dialga?" Char asked.

"When time went out of whack, Dialga also lost control. Now, here in your future, the planet has become fully paralysed. And thus Dialga has lost almost all his reason...and is governed by darkness. Dialga is now beyond recognition. He has become an entirely different being...Yes...He has been transformed into Primal Dialga, a primordial presence. Primal Dialga feels no emotion. He seeks only self-preservation, so he prevents history from changing. That's why Dialga wants me gone. Because I tried to change history. Because I tried to stop the planet's paralysis. Because I travelled back in time to your world from this place...your future..." Grovyle explained.

Char and Charlotte nodded, since it all made sense to them, but Pika was shocked. "What?! You travelled back to our world...So you could prevent the planet's paralysis?! But, that's the complete opposite of what we were told! Grovyle, you came to our world to paralyse the planet...didn't you?! And, weren't you the one stealing the Time Gears?!" Pika asked/yelled.

"You've got to be joking! I was collecting Time Gears...Because they were needed to prevent the planet's paralysis. I needed to take them to Temporal Tower and put them in place. That would have reversed the collapse of Temporal Tower, which was fully under way in your time. While removing a Time Gear from an area causes Time to stop in that area...That's only temporary. After the Time Gears are put into Temporal Tower...Time would have been fully restored everywhere" Grovyle said.

Char and Charlotte believed every word, while Pika was still sceptical. "But, what about all the things Dusknoir said about you? Like how he said that you were a wanted outlaw in the future. And how you escaped from the future...then fled to our world in the past. So, you're saying all that was all lies?" Pika asked.

Char and Charlotte sweatdropped.

"What else could it be? Because Dusknoir really is an agent sent by Primal Dialga to get rid of me..." Grovyle said. "What?! Dusknoir was...an agent sent to get rid of you?!" Pika asked. Char then said "Grovyle just said that!" He was ignored by Pika and Grovyle.

"That's right. I have said that Primal Dialga will try to thwart any attempt to alter history. That's why, when he learned that I travelled through time...he sent Dusknoir after me" Grovyle said. "The great...Dusknoir...? It can't be!" Pika said.

"It's hard for you to believe, I know..." Grovyle started. "I can't believe it at all! You're saying all this about the great Dusknoir?! I don't understand why Dusknoir is acting the way he is here, but...But I respected...Dusknoir...I can't...I can't believe you..." Pika said, with tears in his eyes.

"Sigh...I know it maybe hard to accept, but you know Dusknoir is bad. Just accept it" Charlotte said.

Pika was still for a few seconds, then he started walking back to the ruins.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Grovyle asked. "I'm going to see Dusknoir..." Pika replied.

Char almost had a heart attack when he heard this, and Charlotte almost fainted.

"What?!" Grovyle asked. "I want to see Dusknoir. I'm going to find out if what you said is true or not" Pika answered. "What's the point of that?! You'll only be making it easier for them to kill you! You don't stand a chance against them!" Grovyle said, shocked with Pika's decision.

"Then...What am I supposed to do?!" Pika asked.

"Didn't you wonder this earlier?! And you decided...that you would decide for yourself! You insisted that, because you didn't know what to believe...you wouldn't accept just words...and you'd think for yourself! It's times like this when you have to be strong! Think for yourself, then act as you deem right!" Grovyle said, then he started walking in the opposite direction.

"...Grovyle...What are you going to do now?" Pika asked. "I'm going back to the past to prevent the planet's paralysis. To do that...I need to find Celebi. You can come with me or not. It's your choice. You three decide on your own course of action. I'm off..."

Then, Grovyle ran off in the opposite direction of the ruins.

Char and Charlotte stared at Pika.

"Sigh...Char, and Charlotte...Yes...I know...Grovyle's right...I'm alright now. Let's go. Let's catch up to Grovyle" Then, the three ran after Grovyle...

_**Meanwhile, at the collapsed Temporal Tower...**_

"GRRRRRRRR..." Primal Dialga said to Dusknoir.

"Master Dialga. The stage has been set for the capture of the traitors. When the time comes...It may be necessary for us to beg your help, Master Dialga..." Dusknoir asked.

"GRRRRRRRR..." Primal Dialga replied.

"...As you wish. By your leave, we shall proceed" The markings and glowing eyes of Primal Dialga then disappeared into the darkness...

_**At a forest...**_

'...! What's this? A feeling of Déjà-vu? I've been here before...' Char thought as he looked around the forest.

"Where are we?" Pika asked Grovyle. "This is Dusk Forest. Its name comes from the dark fog that perpetually surrounds it. Deep in this forest...We should find Celebi" Grovyle replied.

Before Pika could ask, Grovyle added "Celebi is the legendary Time Travel Pokémon. She has the ability to cross time. But...Well, she's a little odd...But anyway...Celebi's ability enabled me to go to the past"

"So, if we find Celebi, can we all go back to the past?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes, you can go back. But...Celebi is the Pokémon that sent me to the past. That means she's an outlaw here too...So, there's no time to waste. Let's go..." Grovyle said as he entered the forest.

Team FlameTail followed closely behind him...

_**Nearby...**_

A lone Sableye watched the group enter the forest. "Lord Dusknoir will be pleased with this news! Wheh-heh-heh!" he said to himself, then, he walked off...

_**In a Nearby tree...**_

A hooded, cloaked figure stood, watching everyone. It spoke to seemingly no one "Targets now proceeding into Dusk Forest. I'm going to follow them..."

Then, if anyone was close enough to the stranger, they would have heard "Affirmative Agent B1Q64. Proceed with caution, and remember what your mission is." The voice seemingly came from the stranger's watch.

"Yes...Whoever tampers with Time...will be removed from it..." he said, before deactivating the watch and following Team FlameTail via the trees...

_**In Dusk Forest...**_

The forest was much darker than even Chasm Cave, because of the fog that Grovyle had explained about, so Char and Charlotte had to stay ahead of the group to light the way.

It was an eerily quiet walk through the forest, since there was no sign of life anywhere. "The Pokémon must be keeping their distance, since our Tail Flame's light must be scaring them..." Charlotte said quietly.

"Hmmm...Probably..." Grovyle said, keeping watch over the forest. Agent B1Q64 was following at a safe distance, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Suddenly, he stepped on a stick and snapped it. The noise echoed throughout the forest. Grovyle immediately turned around and said "Who's there?"

B1Q64 stood still.

Grovyle looked carefully into the darkness, and could just see the Agent's outline. "Found you..." Grovyle said before launching Bullet Seeds at the stranger.

Agent B1Q64 skilfully dodged the seeds and walked over to Grovyle. "Are you the one who seeks to tamper with Time?" he asked in a cold, cruel voice.

"Yes. Why do you want to know?" asked Grovyle. "Prepare to be erased from it!" B1Q64 yelled. He then took from underneath his cloak a blue laser sword.

The leaves on Grovyle's arms became glowing green blades as he powered up Leaf Blade.

The two started fighting, sword against blade.

"Uhhh...Who is that?" Charlotte asked. "I don't know..." Pika said. "Now's not the time to think about that. We should help Grovyle!" Char said, before charging his Arm Cannon. "You're right!" Charlotte said, before her claws and tail turned to metal.

"I think I'll just watch..." Pika said nervously.

Char and Charlotte sweatdropped, then ran over to Grovyle. The two were both dodging and slashing at each other, neither of them able to strike each other.

"Jeez, Grovyle's good at dodging and fighting..." Charlotte said. "Yeah, but soon, one of them is going to tire..." Char said. B1Q64's sword then suddenly grew to three times its original size, and the Agent then swung it at Grovyle.

Grovyle blocked the sword with Leaf Blade, but was thrown to the ground by the sword's magnified power. B1Q64 raised the sword, ready to strike, and Grovyle instinctively closed his eyes and braced himself for death, but, the sword never touched him.

He opened his eyes, and saw B1Q64 and his sword frozen in a solid, water-like substance.

"Wh-what happened?" Grovyle asked. "My Arm Cannon has a weapon called the Judicator. It fires Supercooled Plasma to freeze enemies. You're lucky that I was here..." Char said.

"Thanks...Well, now that that's over, we should get going. We've got to find Celebi" Grovyle said. "Ok then, let's go" Char said.

Team FlameTail and Grovyle then walked deeper into the forest.

Unknown to them, though, soon after they left, Agent B1Q64 broke out of the plasma and ran after them. Soon after he started running, his watch started ringing, like a phone. He pressed a button on it, and a voice spoke from the watch.

"Have you exterminated the Time Tamperers yet?" he (the voice) asked. "No, not yet. One of them froze me in plasma before I could kill one of them. They're heading in the direction of the tunnel, so I've got to catch them before they get there" B1Q64 said while running.

"Well, if that's the case, then I'll keep you on this mission. Just make sure you're chasing the right creatures. Remember the Alimbic Prophecy, and don't kill the one the Prophecy speaks of!" the voice said. B1Q64 suddenly remembered something.

"Actually, one of the creatures used the Judicator weapon, so maybe he might have the others?" he said.

"Well then keep him alive! See if he has those weapons, then see if he fulfils the Prophecy. The one who does that is the one who is capable of killing the Shapeshifter" the voice explained.

"The Shapeshifter? But no one can kill it!" B1Q64 said in a shocked voice. "The one who has the Alimbic's deadliest weapons can..." the voice said, before the watch deactivated.

B1Q64 stood in the middle of the forest in deep thought, before running after Team FlameTail again...


	20. The Alimbic Prophecy

**Chapter 20 The Alimbic Prophecy**

Char, Charlotte, Pika and Grovyle all reached a small clearing in the middle of the forest. There was no fog at the clearing, which allowed the group to see the area around them clearly. "We should be able to find Celebi around here..." Grovyle said.

_**Nearby...**_

Agent B1Q64 had finally caught up with the group. Although, instead of walking into the clearing, he hid behind a tree.

'Now, to find out if that orange lizard the one from the Prophecy...' he thought, while watching the group carefully, waiting for an opportunity to scan Char.

_**In the Clearing...**_

"Hello! Celebi? It's me, Grovyle! Reveal yourself, if you're here!" Grovyle shouted. The group looked around, but there was no sign of life anywhere.

"She's not here..." Pika said sadly. Then, he said "What...what if she's been captures by Primal Dialga?"

"Captured?" came a voice out of nowhere. "Waah! Where'd that voice come from?" Charlotte asked. Everyone looked around again, but no one was around.

'Whoever's around here must have stealth technology...' B1Q64 thought as he stood behind a tree.

"Was I just hearing things?" Charlotte asked.

"Tee-hee! You didn't imagine it! Me? Captured? How insulting! Captured?! Impossible, that's for sure! Tee-hee!" came the voice again.

Then, before anyone could react, a pink Celebi appeared in front of Grovyle.

"It's been too long, my dear Grovyle!" she said. "Yes, it has been a while, Celebi" he replied.

"What?! That tiny thing is Celebi?" Pika asked.

"Now that is downright rude! How inappropriate! To poke fun at my petite proportions..." Celebi said.

"Uh...sorry...I heard you have the ability to cross time...So I expected you to be some awe-inspiring Pokémon..." Pika said.

"How uncouth! Never judge someone by appearance! But...I forgive you! After all...You must find me cuter and more special than you imagined! Tee-hee!" Team FlameTail sweatdropped.

B1Q64 almost laughed when he heard this.

"Um, yes..." Pika said.

"Celebi, I need your help again" Grovyle said. "I know. Seeing you back here, my dear Grovyle, tells me everything I need to know. You're back because you failed in your mission in the past, yes?" she asked. Grovyle sweatdropped. "Urk...Yes, it's true..." he replied.

"I hope you manage this time. I've quite had enough of this. Living in this dark and dreary world is so depressing..." Celebi said. "Sorry, no time to chat...The Sableye are tracking us, along with some evil, sword wielding creature. If we don't leave soon, then we'll have brought trouble to you" Grovyle explained.

"Tee-hee! It's quite fine. There is no need to be worried. Let those Sableye and sword creature come. They're of no concern to me. Besides, if you would be so kind as to prevent the planet's paralysis... Celebi started.

'What?! Prevent the Paralysis? But, they're tampering with Time...' B1Q64 thought.

"...We'll finally be spared the agony of this world of darkness. My dear Grovyle, I will devote my whole life to achieve that end!" Celebi finished.

"Alright...Where is the Passage Of Time?" Grovyle asked. "It's ready. It is nearby. The Passage Of Time is on a plateau above the forest" Celebi explained. "That's good. Can you guide us?" Grovyle asked. "Yes! Are all five of you taking the Passage?" Celebi asked.

"Yeah, that's right...Wait, did you say five?" Grovyle asked.

"Yes. Oh?! What's...this? Your friend!" Celebi said while looking at Char. "Huh? Me?" Char asked.

".........No...It can't be..." Celebi muttered. Grovyle looked at both of them, and asked "Is something the matter, Celebi?"

"No...It's nothing...Well then. Shall we? Off to the Passage Of Time."

"Wait, why did you say there were five of us, when there is only my Team and Grovyle here?" Char asked. "Isn't he from your team?" Celebi asked as she pointed to Agent B1Q64.

"Hey! It's that sword creature!" Pika said.

'Rats! My cover's blown! Oh well, I'll have to test him sooner or later...' B1Q64 thought as he stepped completely away from behind the tree. "What do you want?" Charlotte asked angrily. "Don't worry. I come in peace. I simply wish to talk to you there" B1Q64 said as he pointed to Char with one of his fabric glove-covered fingers.

"What is it?" Char asked. B1Q64 took out his laser sword.

"Use your six Sub-Weapons, with one shot each, to try and break this sword, before I use this sword to slash you in half" B1Q64 said simply, before walking 6 steps backwards. Char quickly switched his Arm Cannon weapon and fired a Volt Driver Aerobomb at the sword.

The sword turned yellow, and the agent took one step forward and said "In the beginning shall the darkness be torn asunder by a flash of yellow lightning." Char switched and fired a different weapon, one Battlehammer mortar.

The sword turned green, B1Q64 took a second step and said "Yellow Lightning shall strike with demonic fury upon the Greenwood." With another switch of the weapon, Char fired Superheated Magma from the Magmaul onto the sword.

The sword was set ablaze and became orange; B1Q64 took his third step and said "With a voice of thunder shall the Greenwood burst into an Orange Blaze." Charlotte now ran over to Char and said "Be careful!" "Don't worry; I know what he's doing..." Char replied, before shooting the sword with the Shock Coil.

As soon as the sword turned Dark Blue, Char stopped the Shock Coil. B1Q64 stepped forward for the fourth time and said "The Orange Blaze shall die away to be reborn on wings of Blue Smoke." "Hey, I think I understand now! Char, use the Imperialist, the red sniping laser!" Pika said. Char ignored him, and instead used the Judicator to fire a shard of Supercooled Plasma into the sword.

The sword glowed purple, and B1Q64 said "Tendrils of Blue Smoke shall weave the geometry of Violet Crystal." B1Q64 was now standing in front of Char. He raised the sword to strike Char, but, before he could, Char had shot the sword with the Imperialist's laser. The sword glowed red for a second, before shattering into million of pieces.

"Violet Crystal shall shatter the heavens, leaving in its wake a Red Stain. When the Red Stain shall vanish, so shall the Alimbic Power be manifest. What I have told you is the Alimbic Prophecy. The Alimbic species was once a very powerful, but peaceful empire, which lived on the other side of this universe. They are all extinct now though, because of a creature I call the 'Shapeshifter', but it was known to the Alimbics as 'Gorea'. Remember the Prophecy, as you are the only creature who can rid the universe of Gorea..." B1Q64 said, before walking off.

"Wait! If this 'Gorea' thing is on the other side of the universe, then how can I kill it? And, more importantly, what does this Prophecy have to do with me?" Char asked. "You'll see..." was B1Q64's reply, before disappearing into the forest.

"...That was strange...And Pika, why did you tell Char to use the wrong weapon?" Charlotte asked. "I thought the order of weapons was the same as my favourite colour order, although the last two weapons aren't in the same order..." Pika said.

Everyone except Pika sweatdropped.

"Ok...Well Char, how did you know the correct order of weapons?" Charlotte asked. "I don't know, but it seems that when this Power Suit I'm wearing transferred it's info to me, it might have transferred a bit more then I thought...It must have given me the info about the Alimbic Prophecy as well as Power Suit info..." Char explained.

"Well, come on you lot. We've got to get going before the Sableye catch up with us..." Grovyle said. "Ok..." Char replied.

So, the group started walking up to the plateau, all totally unaware of who was waiting at the Passage Of Time...


	21. Char's True Identity

_**Note: This is very likely to be the last chapter of this story, as I no longer have any ideas on how to continue it...**_

_**This is the largest story I've ever written, and I sort of feel disappointed that I probably won't be finishing it...**_

_**Oh well...**_

_**Here is the unedited version of Chapter 21. **_

_**Please tell me if there are any mistakes...**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**Chapter 21 Char's True Identity**_

After a short journey through the rest of the forest, the group arrived at a path that led towards a plateau. At the peak of the plateau was the Passage Of Time.

"Grovyle, what is the Passage of Time?" Pika asked.

"The Passage of Time is a portal that Celebi uses to travel across time. It's a secret corridor that spans dimensions" Grovyle explained.

"For short time travel trips, I can travel through Time all by myself. But, for big trips that span centuries, I must use the Passage of Time" Celebi added.

"So, travelling through the Passage would ensure..." Pika started.

"...That you will return to your own time. That's correct" Grovyle finished Pika's sentence.

"Oh! There's the place!" Celebi said.

The group arrived at a path that ascended up the plateau. Rock walls lined the sides of the path.

"This path leads up the plateau. The Passage of Time is at the peak" Celebi explained.

"Good. We'll leave as soon as we're ready then" Grovyle said.

Grovyle and Celebi then waited at the path's entrance. Pika took 3 Oran berries out of his Treasure Bag, and handed one each to Char and Charlotte. He kept the third one, and started eating. The two Charmanders started eating as well.

_**Nearby...**_

Agent B1Q64 watched the group from a tree; making sure that he couldn't be seen in the branches.

Suddenly, his watch rang.

He pressed a button on it and said "B1Q64 here."

"Operator here...It turns out that the Shapeshifter, a.k.a. 'Gorea', was killed around 3 years ago by someone named 'Samus Aran'. So, don't worry about the Alimbic Prophecy..." the Operator said. "What? I studied the ancient Alimbic culture for 5 years, just to find out that Gorea's already dead?" B1Q64 asked.

"Yep. Sorry about that Blinx...But, it turns out that there's another evil monster that's succeeded in paralysing the world you are in now. We don't have any info yet about this threat, so you'd better stay alert! We're sending something from the World of Trophies to help you. Good luck!" the Operator said, before disappearing from the watch.

Seconds later, a portal appeared. It dropped a trophy that landed beside Blinx.

It was a boy, no older then 12, wearing a striped T-shirt, jeans and running shoes.

He stood motionless and colourless on his Trophy Stand.

'Well, this boy had better be helpful in fighting or finding this unknown threat...' Blinx, a.k.a. Agent B1Q64, thought, before lifting up the trophy.

Even though it was almost the same size as Blinx, it wasn't too heavy at all.

He waited for a chance to jump out of the tree and follow the Pokémon group.

_**Meanwhile...**_

Team FlameTail had finished eating, so had informed Grovyle and Celebi that they were ready to head towards the plateau.

"You're all ready? Good! Let's get going then! There's no time to waste!" Grovyle said, before walking ahead of the group, leading them up the path.

Celebi sighed, before whispering to Charlotte "Hi! So listen. This is just a little secret...Did you know that Grovyle is really impatient and hasty? I know that he wants to hurry, but I do wish he'd slow down a little...It would sure make me happier if he did...I want to spend as much time as I can with him..."

Char and Pika had heard this, and looked at Celebi, both puzzled.

When Celebi saw them, she instantly realised what they probably were thinking, and started blushing with embarrassment.

"Uhh...Oh! That's not how I meant it! Not at all! I don't have any special feelings for him or anything!" Celebi said quickly.

"Yeah, I'm sure you don't..." Pika said sarcastically, before firing a Shock Wave at a wild Aggron, before Char fired Flamethrower at it, defeating the wild Pokémon.

"Don't worry. I feel the same way about Char..." Charlotte whispered to Celebi.

Celebi kept quiet, as she was too embarrassed to speak.

Grovyle hadn't heard any of them, as he was too focused on getting to the Passage of Time as quickly as possible.

Agent B1Q64, a.k.a. Blinx, followed quietly while carrying the trophy.

_**5 Minutes Later...**_

"Oh! I see it now! There it is!" Celebi said, before leading the group into a large crater-like rock formation.

A glowing gate-like portal was in front of the group.

"That's it? The Passage of Time?" Char asked.

"That's right. That's the Passage. I went through that to go to the past; to your time" Grovyle said, before turning to Celebi.

Blinx thought, while hiding behind a boulder, 'Ah! That's how they travelled time! They used a Time Portal! But, how'd they open it?'

Then, as if Grovyle had heard Blinx, Grovyle said "Celebi, only you can open the Passage of Time. Do your thing."

"Sure" Celebi said, before she hovered towards the Passage.

'Oh, must be another Time Controlling Pokémon, that Celebi...' Blinx thought.

Then, to everyone's surprise, someone shouted "Stop there! That will do!"

"What...? That voice!" Grovyle said.

"It...It can't be!" Pika said, now scared.

Char readied his Arm Cannon.

Charlotte hid behind Char.

Blinx prepared to touch the Trophy's golden base, since the Pokémon seemed panicked.

"Hello to you all. It's been a while" the voice said again, before the speaker revealed himself.

Dusknoir hovered in front of the Passage of Time.

"D-Dusknoir!" Grovyle said.

"Dusknoir..." Pika said sadly.

'Dusknoir?' Blinx thought.

"Your scurrying carried you far..." Dusknoir started, hovering towards the group. "But sad to say...That's all over now" he finished.

The heroes backed away one step, but stopped when the sound of the Sableye's 'Wheh-heh-heh!' laugh filled the crater.

Suddenly, the Sableye ran from the shadows and surrounded the group.

One stray Sableye ran to Blinx and said "Get over there with the other outlaws now!"

"Big mistake...No hostile's going to order me around..." Blinx said darkly, before taking a Sweeper from under his cloak.

The Sweeper looked like a futuristic Vacuum Cleaner, as it had a vacuum cleaner nozzle, a hose that transported anything swept up into the sweeper body, and the body of the sweeper, which was in the shape of a black X. In the middle of the X was a clock. A silver handle on the top of the X had a small red button near where Blinx's thumb was.

Blinx was ready to push the button.

"The Sableye too..." Pika muttered.

"Humph. That's crafty Dusknoir. You allowed us to roam free, but you kept watch on us the entire time...So you could capture Celebi as well as us" Grovyle said.

"What? So you mean we were..." Pika started.

"Yeah. We were being followed the entire time. It must have been that sword wielding guy..." Char said, finishing Pika's sentence.

"Humph. I didn't see this coming...It's entirely my fault, Celebi..." Grovyle said.

"Oh? Apologies don't suit your style, my dear Grovyle! And do you honestly think that I can be caught? Tee-hee!" Celebi said.

Blinx then fired a metal barrel from his sweeper.

The Sableye was hit and thrown into a wall, knocking it out.

Blinx grinned.

"Everyone! Are you ready to fight?" Grovyle asked.

"What? Of course!" Pika said.

"Anytime!" Char said.

"Not really..." Charlotte said; hiding behind Char.

"We're going to power our way through! We'll push them aside...Then dive into the Passage of Time!" Grovyle said confidently.

"G-got it!" Pika said.

"Understood!" Char said.

"R-ready...I think..." Charlotte said nervously.

"Ha! So you'll resist? Spare yourselves the effort! You have no chance of succeeding" Dusknoir said.

The Sableye group moved closer.

"We won't know for sure until we try! Dusknoir! You and me! Now!" Grovyle yelled.

"Grovyle. Are you really such a fool to think that I'd come alone?" Dusknoir asked.

"Wh-what?" Grovyle asked.

Suddenly, Blinx's watch started blaring an alarm.

'Oh no...Something's coming...Something big...' he thought, before quickly touching the Trophy base.

A bright golden light shone from the trophy, before the boy came to life.

"Ugh...Wh-where am I...?" the boy asked.

"You're in the Pokémon world right now. Your PK/PSI powers ready?" Blinx asked.

"Yep. I'm ready" the boy replied; his fingertips sparking with PK/PSI energy.

"Good. Now, the ghosts and the massive thing are our enemies. Only attack when I give the signal" Blinx said.

"Understood!" the boy said.

Blinx smiled.

'It's good that these trophies will help us Time Sweepers...I think the real Lucas would probably just run away or attack us...' Blinx thought.

"Now, Master Dialga!" Dusknoir yelled.

Suddenly, all light disappeared.

"Waah! It turned pitch black!" Pika yelled.

A roar could then be heard that shook the ground.

Two blood-red eyes glowed above the crater, before the light came back.

Dialga was standing above the crater.

It's markings were orange.

It's skin was purple.

The jewel in it's chest was red.

It was Primal Dialga.

"Waaah!" Pika yelled.

Charlotte whimpered behind Char.

Char started doubting the power of his Arm Cannon.

Blinx and Lucas stayed behind the boulder.

"That...That's...!" Grovyle stuttered.

"Grovyle! What is that?" Pika asked.

"That's...Primal...Dialga..." Grovyle said quietly.

"What! That is? That's Primal Dialga?" Pika asked.

Dusknoir smirked.

"What's wrong, Grovyle? Where's your bravado now?" he asked.

"Gah..." Grovyle replied.

"My dear Grovyle..." Celebi said.

"Urf...This...is it for us..." Grovyle said hopelessly.

"What? Why? Aren't we going to fight?" Pika asked.

"We can't give up! If we're going down, then I'm going down fighting!" Char said.

Charlotte whimpered behind Char again.

Blinx was almost ready to give Lucas the signal to go help the group.

"It's hopeless...Dusknoir on his own is one thing...But we don't stand a chance against Dialga...You three have kept up so well...I'm sorry to let you down. This is where it ends..." Grovyle said sadly.

"No. If anything, this should be our final stand...Our last battle for freedom...The last chance to save the world from paralysis..." Char said.

Grovyle stood in front of the group, facing Dusknoir.

"I surrender, Dusknoir. Do with me...as you will" he said.

"My d-d-dear Grovyle!" Celebi said, not believing what Grovyle had just said.

"What's the matter, Grovyle? It's not like you to give up so easily" Dusknoir said, still smirking.

"Yes. I am giving up. But...hope is still alive" Grovyle said, before turning to Celebi.

"Celebi, you remember...That last time...when I travelled back in time to prevent the planet's paralysis...I wasn't alone. There was another" he said.

"What? You didn't come to our world alone?" Pika asked.

"That's right. I had a partner. My brother. We headed to the past together. But, when we were going through the Passage of Time, we had some trouble...We became separated. My brother should still be back in the world of the past. Even if I am eliminated...My brother will see our mission through to the end. My brother will prevent the planet's paralysis" Grovyle explained.

There was a long silence then, which was broken by Dusknoir.

"Ha! Ha-ha-ha! Hoo-hoo-ha!" he laughed.

"What's so funny?" Grovyle asked.

"Ha! So you claim that someone went into the past with you...Incidentally, what's the name of your partner? Go on. Say the name" Dusknoir said.

"Why ask such a thing?" Grovyle asked.

"Can't tell me?" Dusknoir asked.

"No, that's not true. My partner/brother's name is Arch" Grovyle said.

"And the name 'Char' is an anagram of?" Dusknoir asked.

Char instantly panicked, hearing what Dusknoir had said.

'W-what? He can't be saying that I'm Grovyle's brother...Can he?' Char thought.

"What? Do you mean Char?" Pika asked, now shocked.

"Char's your brother? My Char?" Charlotte asked.

Celebi and Grovyle both suddenly stared at Char.

"What? You're...Char...No...It can't be...It isn't. Your name is Char, not Arch. Besides, Arch is a Sceptile, not a Charmander..." Grovyle said.

"Hoo-hoo-ha! Precisely! And that Sceptile was once human! My good fellow! Grovyle, that is unmistakably Arch! Sure, he may not actually be your brother, but he is definitely Arch!" Dusknoir said.

"Wh-what...?" Grovyle asked, not understanding Dusknoir.

"Master Dialga has given me a mission. It was to eliminate you and Arch, Grovyle. Because you both fled to the past. I travelled back through time in pursuit of you both. In the past, I gathered intelligence that might help me find you both. At one point, I met Team FlameTail. But, at that point, I suspected nothing...When Char, a.k.a. Arch, mentioned the Dimensional Scream, I was sceptical at first...But, then an idea formed within my mind...And...A former human...With no memories...A human that possessed the Dimensional Scream...I became convinced then! There was no doubt! This was the human turned Sceptile turned Charmander that I was searching for! It was obvious that he'd mixed up his name to spell Char! So, he had developed amnesia...And was transformed into a Charmander...which must have been caused by your accident in the Passage of Time...Well, Arch's memory loss was lucky for me! After all, your partner didn't recognise me! It was quite easy to win over his trust. And, it was also easy to drag him into the future when the time came!" Dusknoir explained.

"That's not true! I always suspected you from the start!" Char yelled.

"But you did nothing!" Dusknoir answered.

"If that's true, then he must have just been an orphaned Treecko when my parents found him...I thought he was my older brother..." Grovyle said.

"Urk...Dusknoir really was lying!" Pika said, now very upset.

"Because of Arch, Grovyle...You were the last part of the job to finish..." Dusknoir said.

Grovyle was speechless.

'Ah! My memories are coming back!' Char thought, as part of his amnesia faded away, and he remembered that indeed he'd been a Sceptile named Arch once.

Charlotte remained quiet.

"Grovyle and Arch! With the both of you here...Everything will end when we finally dispose of you. That will finally put an end to Grovyle's glimmer of hope! Everything ends! Everything ends for you! Ha-ha-hoo-hoo-ha!" Dusknoir laughed.

"No! It can't end this way! Not now! Not yet!" Char yelled.

"Dusknoir...no..." Pika said.

"Lucas, get ready!" Blinx whispered.

Suddenly, Charlotte yelled "Dusknoir!"

"Ha! Have you finally come to terms with your fate?" Dusknoir asked.

"Celebi! Grovyle! Char! Pika! We can't give up!" Charlotte said.

"Exactly!" Char agreed.

"We shall be rid of you for all time! This is the end...for you and your planet!" Dusknoir said.

"Wheh-heh-heh!" the Sableye said, before walking a step forward towards the group.

"We can't give up!" Pika suddenly yelled.

"Gah...You say not to give up..? But what could we possibly do in this situation?" Grovyle asked.

"We think!" Char answered.

"No need to!" Blinx said, leaping out from behind the boulder along with Lucas.

"Who are...?" Dusknoir started, but he didn't have enough time to finish the sentence as Lucas yelled "PK...STARSTOOOOORM!"

A mass of shiny, glowing, psychic meteors then fell out of the sky.

None of the meteors fell near the heroes; only at Dusknoir, Primal Dialga and the Sableye's.

The meteors hit the Sableyes quite easily; knocking them all unconscious.

"Now's our chance!" Char yelled, before diving into the Passage of Time, with Grovyle and Charlotte following.

"Are you coming?" Pika asked Celebi.

"No. My place is here. Don't worry though! I can't be caught! Tee-hee!" Celebi said, before disappearing suddenly.

Pika dived into the Passage.

"No you don't!" Dusknoir roared, diving at the Passage.

A meteor hit him though, and threw him back.

As a desperate attempt to eliminate the heroes, Dusknoir fired a Shadow Ball into the Passage.

The portal closed forever as soon as the Shadow Ball entered it.

"Gah..." Dusknoir muttered.

Blinx stepped up to Dusknoir, before slamming him in the back of the head with his Adamantium sweeper.

"And that's for messing with the time stream!" he yelled at the now unconscious ghost, before walking off; Lucas following him.

Primal Dialga then fired the Roar of Time at Blinx.

It flew straight through him without causing any harm to the Time Sweeper Agent.

Blinx merely chuckled.

"You can't hurt a Time Sweeper with Temporal based attacks..." he muttered, before pressing the red button on his sweeper.

The sweeper fired a blue wave of energy that instantly flew across the planet; freezing every living thing on the planet in time for 10 seconds; without effecting Blinx or Lucas.

The two walked off into the darkness, towards Dusk Forest, as the 10 second pause started wearing off...

_**In mid-time travel...**_

The Shadow Ball flew straight at Char.

He shielded his body with the Arm Cannon, only to have the Cannon explode to pieces upon impact with the Shadow Ball, leaving Char with the Snag Machine, which had been underneath the Arm Cannon for the entire time that Char had worn the cannon.

The four Pokémon continued to fly through Time, until the Passage of Time ended, and they were all thrown onto the beach, back in the present day...


End file.
